A 48-year-old small businessman from Newcastle, NSW [Australia], has waited six months for the right psychological moment to claim a $2 million (US$1.65 million) Lotto prize won in January.
"I'm a bit of a crazy sort of bloke. I had the winning ticket in a tin in a safe spot so there was no rush," the winner told stunned NSW Lotteries officials today.
"I actually thought about leaving it another couple of months. There was something about claiming that much money that I wasn't ready for, I had to get my head around it.
"I just wanted to prepare myself mentally before I put my hands on it. When you're running a small business you never know where the next dollar is coming from, and it was a comforting thing to have the ticket as a buffer against anything that might go wrong financially," he said.
The father of four said that his children were "rubbing their hands about how to spend it", but he wanted to make sure they weren't spoiled by sudden wealth.
"I'm going to keep on working, and the kids are going have to work for a living too, but it takes the pressure off. You can go out and do silly things like buying sports cars after you win Lotto, but that's not for me," he said.
The winner said "superstition told me I was going to win one day".
"I get these bursts of intuition and I follow them through. My wife went to a clairvoyant about 12 months ago and as soon as she walked in she was told that she was going to come into some big money.
"The day after the draw I checked my numbers on the internet. When I saw how much I'd won I had to punch myself in the head about half a dozen times to make sure it was real," the winner joked.
The winner is planning to take an overseas holiday and donate some money to charity.
He purchased the winning 14 standard game entry costing $12.00 from Lake Haven Centre Newsagency at Shop 31, Lake Haven Shopping Centre, Gorokan. Owner David Goodwin said that it was great to hear the mystery has finally been solved.
"It has certainly baffled us over the last few months and I did worry that perhaps the ticket was lost and the winner would never be found, so I'm very glad to hear that's not the case. I'm very excited for the winner and I hope all of their dreams come true," Mr Goodwin said.
Thanks to myturn for the tip.
Wow I gotta give him credit for being honest. Not many people will honestly admit that they waited until they were psychologically ready to cash in a winning lottery ticket. Kudos to the winner. I hope his business continues to thrive and he stays grounded.
Good thing there isn't a specific time limit in the Land of Down Under to claim a large winning jackpot--for example, in a few days one ticket worth $200,000 is set to expired on 8/24/09 in Calif because the deadline to redeem it is six months; which is the same amount of time he sat on his jackpot - this winner should be very grateful he did not win in CA!!! However, I will extend my heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS for not only winning, but being very patience
A 48-year-old small businessman from Newcastle,
I wonder if he is a small 48 year-old man who owns a business or just a plain 48 year-old man who owns a small business......Uhhhhhhhh.
Lol RJoh..
Congrats to the man....As for me a psychic told me I am gonna have BIG Money....I am waiting...
Congrats to him! I can understand why he needed to prepare himself. Winning a large jackpot is a life changing experience and it affects each person differently. Some people would be able to cash in their ticket quickly, while others need to wait.
North Carolina doesn't have much time to claim tickets either (like California). And this puzzles me, as it's the state who loses out on getting extra money if it's not claimed, for Powerball.
I couldn't wait too long as I am always losing things around my house like car keys, coupons, shopping lists, my purse, etc, etc, etc, It would be nerve wracking to know that this little piece of paper could blow away, be swept up or get spilled on!!!!
Smart man, The money is gonna his life so much. It very important to stay
grounded and level headed. Congrats to him and his family.
Who better to buy a lottery ticket from than a person with the last name "Goodwin" ?
I would fight the urge to go right to the lotto HQ the next day and do all the things I've thought of doing, hopefully as quick as possible because I sure as hell couldn't wait six months. More power to him for doing so though.
It doesn't hurt to make realistic plans plans on what you would do with a certain level prize. Winning $20,000 is a heck of alot different than 200,000,000....
You are not going to move on $20,000. Where Winning $200,000,000 requires a move.
No matter how much I win there will be no 12 bedroom/12 bathroom homes for me. No more than 2 cars. I don't care about jewelry. I don't need more than 2 pairs of shoes. $10 shirts/$15 pants are all that I need or want.
Some final details can wait.
But also a 6 month wait cuts out great investment time.
I will show up within 2 days after winning! Under most circumstances I will be there on the 1st day as close to opening as I can get!
When I win the $252 mil on Tuesday, Wednesday for planning, Thursday for collecting, Friday getting cash organized, traveling on Saturday. They won't find me!
MarkP
I think that was a Smart move but think of all the interest he would of got in 6 months, in a way he lost some of it for not investing it, in the 6 months, but I guess as long as he had the ticket that was all he needed to worry about! I am happy for him, one day I want to win big to. I won't say I will try I am going to win!
winner said "superstition told me I was going to win one day". "I get these bursts of intuition and I follow them through. My wife went to a clairvoyant about 12 months ago and as soon as she walked in she was told that she was going to come into some big money.
the story proves LUCK is 99 % and what you think is 100% ..just keep both on the same page and the desires of your heart will come true ...Me i JUST WANT A MILLION SO I CAN LIVE SOMEWHERE ELES ON AN ISLAND ........I WOULD NEVER HAVE TOLD THE WIFE ....
Don't we all have the feeling that we WILL win!
MarkP