LOTTERY officials have tracked down the Hunter's $4.8 million winning ticket after a brief mystery, with two Waratah brothers the lucky pair.
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Lottery officials said the pair held the only division one winning entry in Wednesday night's draw, giving them $20,000 a month for 20 years.
Officials had appealed for people to check their tickets on Thursday after tracing the winning ticket to a sale at Waratah Shopping Village.
But all is not lost for other players, with another win sold at Beaumont Street's Nina's IGA yet to be claimed.
The Waratah pair said on Thursday they had found out on Wednesday night thanks to a bout of insomnia.
"I had woken up in the middle of the night and I could not get back to sleep, so I was just playing on my phone when I decided to check our ticket," one of the brothers told lottery officials.
"I couldn't believe it when I saw we had won. I thought I was dreaming so I called my brother straight away to double check.
"The first thing he said was, 'What's wrong? No one calls at midnight unless something bad has happened."
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After the second sibling confirmed the win, the pair decided to stay awake and celebrate with a few drinks.
"You dream of this happening, but you never think it actually will," they said.
"We both took the day off [on Thursday] and we will go out for a nice dinner and some drinks tonight to celebrate some more
"We are young, so this gives us an opportunity to really live life to the fullest.
"There's going to be lots and lots of travel for the both of us. I am sure we will do a lot more things with our prize, but we still don't really believe it yet."
Waratah LPO and Newsagency owner Michael Phillips said selling the winning ticket was great for the shop too.
"We are so glad they came back in here to check their ticket. The team were thrilled to be a part of their winning moment," he said.
"We really hope they enjoy their prize, and we hope we can deliver more division one wins to some of our customers soon.
"It's just such a great win for the store, our winners and the community."
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Matt Carr
Matt began his Newcastle Herald career as a cadet in 2009. He is a Walkley nominated reporter who has covered councils, police and general news rounds across the Upper Hunter, Port Stephens, Maitland, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock and Newcastle. Now his focus is on digital storytelling and breaking news.
Matt began his Newcastle Herald career as a cadet in 2009. He is a Walkley nominated reporter who has covered councils, police and general news rounds across the Upper Hunter, Port Stephens, Maitland, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock and Newcastle. Now his focus is on digital storytelling and breaking news.
