A Mount Gambier woman has found the ultimate way to wish her husband a happy anniversary - gifting him a $25,000 Instant Scratch-Its prize. 

The top prize winning $2 Sweep Stakes Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased at Chapman’s Newsagency, 11 Commercial Street West, Mount Gambier. 

“I bought the Instant Scratch-Its ticket as an anniversary gift for my husband,” the winning woman explained when speaking with us.

“I’d bought about five tickets, and this was the last one we scratched. My husband was just having some breakfast and about to head out for work when he scratched the ticket. 

“When he first scratched it, he was really confused. He just looked at me blankly and said, ‘can you come and check this for me? Is this right? Are you pulling my leg?’. 

“I wasn’t sure why he was asking me to check, but when I saw the prize, I was just as gobsmacked as him. 

“He thought I was pranking him at first! But, once he realised that I was as surprised as he was, he knew it was real. 

“We felt overwhelmed more than anything. Our heads were spinning! 

“We never buy Instant Scratch-Its tickets, so it’s amazing. You dream of moments like this, but you never think it’ll happen to you. 

“We both had to go to work that morning, so we couldn’t do too much celebrating. But we had big smiles on our faces all day!” 

The winning woman explained the prize had come at a fantastic time of the year. 

“It’s going to be a nice little boost with Christmas coming up,” she explained. 

“There are a few things we’d like to get ourselves as little treats. 

“We might even go away in the new year so we can have a little belated anniversary celebration.” 

Chapman’s Newsagency owner Colin Martin said he was delighted to hear one of his local customers had won big. 

“Isn’t that wonderful!? It’s great news for the winner, our newsagency and the community,” he said. 

“It’s not every day that you sell a major prize winning ticket, so it’s really exciting for us. 

“I’ll share this news with all our staff, and I am sure they will get a kick out of that. All our customers will be so pleased for the winner too. 

“What a great time of year to win as well! Especially with Christmas just around the corner, and after the tough few years we’ve had. 

“Congratulations to the winning couple. We hope the prize makes a positive difference to their lives!”