/ 14 March 2006

West Rand man claims R34m lottery prize

Life will never be the same for a West Rand man whose R50 Quickpick ticket matched the Lotto winning numbers drawn last Wednesday.

He only realised 24 hours after the draw that he was R34-million richer.

The payout is the biggest since the game’s inception six years ago.

”We all hope to win the ‘big one’, but I honestly believe most of us never really expect to win. This is why I needed assurance from my girlfriend that I was really holding the winning ticket,” said the man, who wants to remain anonymous.

In his late 50s, he went to work as usual last Thursday and checked his ticket against the winning results printed on a payout slip at a local store only later that night.

He visited Uthingo’s head office in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, on Monday and left a few hours later R34 256 346 richer.

He intends investing most of the money, quitting his job in the transport industry and helping his family improve their lives.

”I am going to buy a luxury German sedan and move my family to a bigger house,” he said.

The previous record for biggest win by an individual player was held by a Pretoria man in his 20s who won R30 352 465 last November. — Sapa