A Cannonvale man couldn’t help but attribute his dreamy $150,000 win on an Instant Scratch-Its ticket to someone in his family ‘looking out for him upstairs.’

The Whitsunday resident’s winning $10 Jumbo Crosswords Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased at News Whitsunday, Shop T3, Whitsunday Plaza (Centro), 8 Galbraith Park Drive, Cannonvale.

The Queenslander had to digest his instant windfall all by himself while his partner was completing her night shift at the local hospital – explaining it was ‘nerve-racking’.

“Believe it or not, I was quite subdued!” he laughed.

“I was sitting at home by myself when I scratched the ticket, and I started to go through a very nerve-racking process when I realised that I had won a top prize.

“I kept double checking, double checking, double checking and I even wrote all the words down on a piece of paper to make sure.

“I spent three-quarters of the time thinking I had only won the second prize. I didn’t realise I had missed one of the words over and over again – it was just sitting there!

“I couldn’t pass the news on to my wife because she was working a night shift at the hospital, and I didn’t want to disturb her because I knew she would get super excited.

“She had to go to sleep the following morning when she came home, and I had to keep the news all to myself until she woke up. It was challenging!

“My wife is always having a dig at me for buying scratchies, but it’s something I like to do. Once she woke up, I just passed her the ticket and said ‘Look closer! Look closer!’.

“She immediately kept saying ‘Oh my god! Oh my god!’.

“It’s certainly a life-changing moment for me. I’ve been playing for a long time, and this is the most I’ve ever won!

“It’s certainly come at the most perfect time, and it feels like someone is looking out for me upstairs!

“Thank you so much for the phone call!”

News Whitsunday owner Richard Bates said the top prize-winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket is great news for the local community and his team couldn’t be happier for the winner.

“It’s fantastic news for the Whitsunday community and we’re pleased to hear it went to a regular customer who has continued to support us,” he said.

“We’ve recently sold division two winning entries on multiple occasions in recent years, but never a top prize-winning entry on an Instant Scratch-Its ticket!

“Congratulations to the winner and his family on behalf of the team and we wish him all the best for the long run!”