A Pialba woman has confessed she had a close call, nearly discarding her precious top prize Instant Scratch-Its ticket worth a life-enhancing $10,000. 
 
The Hervey Bay resident's $1 Beat the Heat ticket was purchased at Nextra Bay Plaza, Shop 7-8 Bay Plaza, 27 Torquay Road, Pialba. 
 
When we confirmed her instant prize, the relieved woman shared how she had nearly missed out on her top prize win. 
 
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the $10,000 win!” she cheered.
 
“It’s been such a whirlwind. 
 
“I bought the ticket on a whim; just wanting to have a scratch for a bit of fun.
 
“At the time, I bought a few tickets and tossed them in my handbag.

“It wasn’t until I was cleaning out my handbag the other day and nearly chucked them in the bin that I realised I still hadn’t scratched them. 

“It was such a close call!
 
“It honestly feels like the universe had my back.
 
“My car is completely broken at the moment, so the prize couldn’t have come at a better time.
 
“Now I can fix my car, which is a total life saviour.”
 
Nextra Bay Plaza owner Michelle Jordan shared she had goosebumps hearing her outlet had sold a top prize-winning ticket. 
 
“We were all in a bit of shock to hear we’d sold a top prize-winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket,” she said. 
 
“It’s our first big winner of any kind, so it gave us all goosebumps. 
 
“We’ll be spreading the news far and wide and decorating our store. 
 
“Huge congratulations to our special winner!”