Lottery 199 Winner: Still sinking in – the call of a lifetime

A Queensland man received the call of a lifetime on the morning of Thursday 19th May. What started out as a regular working from home day took a very different turn.

Speaking with us, the Queensland resident shared his secret to winning his fortune.

“You’ve got to be in it to win it. I can’t win if I’m not in it. I never gave up hope. I’ve been buying various lottery tickets for 40 years and supporting the Deaf Lottery for about 4 – 6 years.”

Paul* has always been an off-and-on phone buyer since 2010. He bought $200 in total for Lottery 199 (2 different sales over 2 different days) but has only just now signed up to be a VIP in Lottery 200 (with the same staff member that sold him his winning ticket).

Because Paul’s* winning ticket was in a book of $100 he has won the $30,000 book buyers prize along with the $800,000 major draw prize, making his total prize $830,000.

“I couldn’t believe it – I thought someone was pulling my leg. I was on the phone to Mr Harvey Ross, Head of Marketing and Sales at Deaf Connect, for some time in shock. It wasn’t until I heard a roaring cheer from the Deaf Lottery office congratulating me personally, that I thought, alright this really could be legitimate.”

Paul* and his wife were working from home on Thursday, when his wife heard the commotion from another room, her colleagues insisted she swiftly exit her Zoom meeting to see what the fuss was about. After somewhat grappling with the life changing news, the pair switched from drinking tea to champagne and finished work early to begin celebrating the news.

Paul* has chosen to go with the Mortgage Buster prize option, with his eye on a brand new car. Paul* will be putting portions of his win towards an early retirement and paying off his mortgage. Having never owned his own home,  he said “It was an incredible relief” to have this rare opportunity. “A holiday is also on the cards, a trip around Australia” to explore the diverse Australian landscape.

“Life will be so much easier now.” For Deaf Lottery 199 Winner Paul*, his $800,000 win could not have come at a better time after battling some serious health issues. “There are no excuses anymore, my focus is now on my health and my family ”. He is looking forward to a bright healthy future with more time to exercise, focus on his health, spend time with loved ones, travel and do volunteer work in the community. “Time is money. Now I’ve got the money, I’ve got more time for the important things in life” says Paul*.

The news has triggered a chain reaction among friends and family, with many of them setting out to buy Deaf Lottery tickets, now witnessing first-hand that real people do win and that “You’ve got to be in it to win it”.

Paul* admitted another reason why he can’t help but not support the Deaf Lottery, “The people that work in the Deaf Lottery – I can’t hang up on them when they call. They’re just such nice people. That’s the difference with the Deaf Lottery. Everyone is always so kind and lovely to talk to. I can’t thank you all enough!”.

Paul* looks forward to celebrating the news with his family with a nice long lunch, his shout.

We’re glad that the prize has gone to such a deserving family.

From everyone at Deaf Connect, we wish Paul* and his family the very best, and thank him for his ongoing support of Deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing Australians.