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A 63-year-old grandmother from Gauteng, South Africa, has won a R57 million Lotto jackpot despite being unable to read or write. The pensioner became an overnight multimillionaire after matching all six numbers in the draw on Wednesday 24th October to scoop the eight-figure jackpot.
"I thought some luck may come my way"
The winning numbers were 2, 18, 20, 22, 32 and 34, plus the Bonus Ball of 46. The mother-of-five was the only one from over 94,000 winners to match all six main numbers, overcoming odds of 1 in 20 million to land the full jackpot for herself. She bought her winning ticket from a Kwikspar in Germiston, Gauteng, by randomly picking numbers from the rows on the playslip due to her inability to read or write.
She has played Lotto for the past six years and the most she had ever won previously was R50. She said: "I looked at the lotto paper and started writing. I started writing and then wrote on the second line. I cannot even see well. I was just guessing where the numbers are. I thought since I don't get pension‚ some luck may come my way. I would joke about how my R5 [that I used to play the lotto] were enriching other people. I would also say that perhaps the lottery is helping other people with this money."
The Gauteng grandmother found out she was the jackpot winner on the night of the draw, after her daughter checked the winning numbers whilst they were watching television. She said: "As she called the numbers out‚ I got up and said 'God has answered my prayers. We have won the lotto." The ecstatic family said they struggled to sleep on the night they found out they were jackpot winners due to the excitement of landing such a big prize.
Plans To Build Houses For Her Five Children
Players in South Africa have 365 days from the date of a draw to come forward and claim their prize, but she wasted little time in doing so. She went to the Ithuba lottery officers in Sandton the following day to begin the process of claiming her jackpot prize, and will be offered counselling and financial advice by the lottery operator. These services are provided to all big winners in South Africa free of charge. The jackpot hadn’t been won since 19th August when a single ticket holder scooped R23.7 million, rolling over for nine consecutive draws since then.
The winner said she has been unable to work for some time due to a chronic illness, relying solely on her husband’s income. She explained: "My life will be beautiful. I will be able to go to the best doctors and get good medication. I will also now get transport to go to town. I will get to eat food which is eaten by other people. God has answered her prayers. My husband had odd jobs. He was a sole provider. I have not earned a living because of my ill health."
She also plans to use some of her winnings to build houses for each of her five children, travel to Cape Town in the south of the county, and fix the damaged roads in her local mountainous area. She has reiterated her desire to continue playing Lotto despite her big win, proclaiming: "It is now in my blood to play… It was now my job [to play]. It would be my prayer to win since I was not educated so I cannot stop."