The act of losing a $20 note has set in motion a series of events that led a man from Charlestown to scratch one of the top prizes of $100,000 on a $5 Instant Scratch-Its ticket.
 
The man purchased his winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket from Charlestown Square Newsagency, Charlestown Square, G8016 Pearson Street, Charlestown.
 
Speaking to a NSW Lotteries official to claim his prize, the winner recounted the moment he revealed his $100,000 prize.
 
“I had to go to the chemist to put a script in, and so rather than waiting I went to the newsagency to buy some lottery tickets with a $20 note I had,” he explained.
 
“But when I went there, I realised I had lost the $20 and only had a $5 note. So I thought I might as well just buy a scratchie instead.
 
“And then here I am scratching away and I thought ‘hell, this can’t be right, oh my god I couldn’t have won $100,000!’.
 
“So I went back to the newsagency and the girl working there said I had won a prize, and here I was thinking I’d won $300, possibly $500 max!
 
“But then she said, ‘you know, you’ve got the big one’. And I just looked at her and said ‘oh come on now, don’t lie to me’.

 “So I took it home and showed my wife and she checked it, and then I checked it, and then she checked it again and I checked it again and I just started shaking like crazy and thought ‘holy sh*t, I actually have won!’.”

 The winner explained how thrilled he was with his $100,000 win.
 
“I just feel so happy. My mother always said that my luck would change at 40, well it took a few years, but it’s happened,” he laughed.
 
“And you know, if I hadn’t lost that $20, I wouldn’t have bought a scratchie, so like my wife always says ‘I was just there at the right time’."
 
The winning man explained his plans for his instant windfall.
 
“I have a lot of grandkids and kids, so I will look after them. And then I will finally buy myself a car, because my wife and I currently share one,” he said.
 
Charlestown Square Newsagency manager Kim Spicer said the outlet was celebrating selling a top prize winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket.
 
“It was wonderful, we are very excited and we have had quite a few winners recently,” she said.
 
“We have definitely been celebrating and we have been letting everyone know that we have had another winner!
 
“We are waiting for our next win, which really could be any day now.”
 
Last financial year, there were 144 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across the Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $12 million.
 
The latest range of Instant Scratch-Its tickets are available now at NSW Lotteries outlets. It can happen it an instant. It could happen to you.