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NSW Grandfather Finds A Year Old Lotto Ticket, Wins $1 Million

'I'm glad I didn't just get the old bags and take them to the dump.'
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A New South Wales grandfather has seriously hit the jackpot, winning $1 million on an old lotto ticket he found while cleaning out his car.

In an extremely lucky turn of events, the man decided to check the ticket online after he found it at the bottom of one of his reusable Aldi shopping bags. The Newcastle man then discovered he'd won a Division One prize of $1,020,496.

"I line the bottom of my reusable Aldi shopping bags with old beer cartons to give them some strength. The ticket was hidden in underneath it and I didn't know it was there," he explained.

"I was cleaning rubbish out of my car on the weekend and thought it was time to put new cartons in the bottom of all my bags as they were starting to get torn and I got quite a surprise!"

Weirdly enough, he is a regular Lotto player and has a NSW Lotteries Players' Club card -- he just didn't have it on him that day. And the rest is lottery history.

"I'm glad I didn't just get the old bags and take them to the dump. I've done some pretty stupid things in my time!" he said.

The scenario ended Newcastle's Nextra Marketown Newsagency 13-month search for the winner of the prize money.

The owner of the newsagency, Cheryl Tuckerman said that they were relieved the search for the winner was finally solved.

"We're over the moon, it's like winning the lottery ourselves! It's such a relief to know the winner has been united with their prize," she said.

The lucky man wants to use the money to help his children with house repayments and also pay for his grandchildren's education.

"I'm not worried that I could have had the money a year ago – at least I've got it now. It might have remained anonymous until the year 3900!" the man explained.

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