An Australian man is celebrating after winning a life-changing lottery prize
NEED TO KNOW
The husband and father deleted the original email informing him of his win, but when he got a second message, he decided to investigate
As for the winnings, he says he plans to use some of the money to give back and "help the community"
An Australian man nearly missed his chance to become a multi-millionaire because when he first saw an email informing him that he won a life-changing lottery prize, he thought it was junk.
Lottery officials said theytried to call the man to inform himthat he won a prize worth 50 million Australian Dollars (about $35M) but the number they had was outdated, which is what led them to try emailing him instead — but it still took two messages to get his attention.
"Is it true?" he asked lottery officials after giving them a call them on Thursday, March 12, while watching the an Australian Football League game on TV.
"I actually saw your first email and I didn't even open it - I assumed it was junk and deleted it," added the man, who chose to remain anonymous. "But then I received another email, and I thought, 'Maybe I'll check the app.' "
"I'm in shock," he added of the win "I'm just sitting here watching the footy with my son. When my wife gets home, have I got news for her!"
The Victoria man's winning numbers were 5, 6, 18, 9, 14, 4 and 13, while the crucial Powerball number was 14, a number of particular significance for him.
"I normally use our birthday numbers for my tickets, but I had a small win the other day and I thought I'd select some random numbers for tonight's draw," the man said. "I decided to choose number 14 for the Powerball number as it's my favorite football number."
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The man says he plans to use some of the money to help others.
"I always used to say to my friends and family that if I won $50 million, I would dedicate myself to helping others," he said. "It's almost like I put it in the universe! I'd like to look at some kind of work that helps the community."
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He also plans to buy a home for his family.
"I never thought we'd be able to buy our very own home after renting for such a long time!" he added. "We're not going to buy anything out of this world. We'll continue to be humble and buy a house in our suburb."
If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling problem, please contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network at 1-800-522-4700 or go togamtalk.org.
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