A Carrum Downs man is thanking his lucky stars for choosing a different number than usual on his lottery ticket – a move that delivered him $795,000 in the weekend’s TattsLotto draw.

The Victorian held one of the seven division one winning entries nationally in TattsLotto draw 4355, drawn Saturday 15 April 2023.

In addition to winning the division one prize of $783,459.23, the man’s marked System 8 entry also scored division three 12 times and division four 15 times, bolstering his total windfall to $795,416.33

“That’s fantastic!” he cheered when we confirmed his newfound fortune this morning.

“I was at my parent’s place on Saturday night for my birthday celebrations, and we were watching the footy together.

“My sister had gone home, and we decided to watch the TattsLotto draw on television.

“I’ve been playing the same lottery numbers for years, so I knew most of them.

“I saw the numbers come up one by one, but then I saw number 31 come up.

“I wasn’t too sure if I had number 31, so I thought I’d won only $961.05 in division three.

“Then, we realised I did indeed have number 31! I don’t know why I even chose number 31 in the first place because I usually choose number 33! To be honest, I think it’s my new favourite number.

“There was a lot of yelling from there - it’s a birthday I’ll never forget!”

With more than $795,000 about to land in his bank account, the regular player already had a few ideas for his prize in mind.

“I’ve been looking at relocating closer to the city for quite some time now,” he shared.

“I’ve been looking at buying an apartment but then COVID hit, and I’ve put it on the back burner ever since.

“Now, I can finally look at calling an apartment my very own!”

His winning marked System 8 entry was purchased online at thelott.com – the official home of Australia’s lotteries.