X Lotto first for Elizabeth Downs pensioner

20 May 2010

An Elizabeth Downs man aged in his 70s is the first South Australian to win a Division One prize in SA Lotteries’ rebranded X Lotto game.

Having registered the winning Easi-Pick entry on his Easiplay Club card, the pensioner this morning received a telephone call from SA Lotteries confirming the million-dollar news.

“I checked my ticket early this morning and I think I’ve checked it another 17 times since then,” the man said.

“My heart is racing, my hands are shaking, so I’m very glad you called,” he said.

“I was hoping I hadn’t made a mistake…17 times.”

The local man shared last night’s X Lotto $2 million Division One prize pool with a Western Australian player.

Upon hearing the news of his overnight millionaire status, the man remained quite calm.

“How much have I won? $1 million? Good, I think I’ll have another cup of tea,” the man said to SA Lotteries.

“It’s too early for me to think about what to do with this money—I need to get over the shock first,” he said.

SA Lotteries rebranded its Lotto game to X Lotto last Sunday with the launch of a new lotteries system that can identify crosses marked on coupons.

X Lotto first launched in South Australia in 1973, but was rebranded to Lotto in 1999 with the launch of SA Lotteries’ previous system that identified only vertical lines marked on coupons.

The new X Lotto name applies to all Saturday, Monday and Wednesday draws.

SA Lotteries’ profits from X Lotto are distributed to State hospitals for the benefit of all South Australians.

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