Mega Home Lottery win makes retirement a reality for Ian
Ian is usually pretty confident of a win in the MSWA Lottery but this year was different – he thought he had missed out on a ticket entirely.
You can imagine his surprise when MSWA CEO Melanie Kiely, Client Nicolette Murphy and Care Support Worker Natasha Bishop called to congratulate him on winning the life changing $3.8 million Applecross Grand Prize Package.
A member of the Platinum Club, which reserve tickets in future MSWA Mega Home Lotteries, Luxury Lotteries or Multi-Choice Raffle campaigns, Ian’s ticket had somehow found its way into his junk folder.
“I thought ‘I really must contact MSWA and give them my updated details’ because it looks like my Platinum tickets haven’t come through,” Ian said.
“I had been a bit disappointed because I thought I had missed out on a ticket this time, so it came really out of the blue!”
“I really didn’t believe it, I just thought, ‘it can’t be true’.”
Ian won MSWA’s biggest ever grand prize; an idyllic home located in Applecross, a luxe Range Rover Velar and a cool $300,000 in cash, allowing him to put in his notice at work the very next day.
“It was getting to that stage in life where retirement was getting closer, but you never know what is going to happen with markets, how much money you need, you never know what is round the corner,” Ian said.
“It’s that kind of pipedream; ‘if I win the house, I will actually be able to retire and it will change my life’, but you never actually expect it to happen.”
“Now I am living that dream.”
Ian and his wife purchased tickets for the very first MSWA lottery, motivated by a friend from his school days who lives with MS. He has been buying them ever since to continue his support of people living with neurological conditions.
“We are still in the Platinum Club so I look forward to winning another house next year,” he laughed.
“No, I have no expectations to win anything else, but I will stay in the Platinum Club so I can give back and keep supporting MSWA.”
“It is something that needs to be supported and the lottery is a great vehicle to be able to support MSWA and give a bit of money to help.”
For those thinking of buying a ticket, Ian’s advice was to “go for it”.
“All the people at work are looking into the house lottery now, because you don’t believe anybody wins until you find out the person sitting next to you in the office has won it,” he said.
“You realise the winners are all real, and it is possible.”