Two West Australian pensioners struggling with bill payments used their last $11 in change to buy a lotto ticket - and won $1 million.
The husband and wife, in their 60s, spent the last of their cash on a ticket after she dreamed she'd won Lotto.
"When you're living pension to pension it isn't easy," she said.
"I was surprised my hubby let me use our last bit of change to buy the ticket but it was a Double Win Day."
The wife said she first realised she'd taken out the nation's only Division 1 win on Monday night after checking the numbers as they were drawn.
"I didn't know what to do," she said.
"I wanted to tell my husband straight away but I was scared the shock of it would give him a heart attack," she added.
She originally told her husband they'd won a couple thousand dollars, later returning to the lounge room to fess up: they were instant millionaires.
"I told her not to be stupid," her husband said.
"When I rechecked the numbers I immediately realised we could afford our next mortgage payment," he added.
The couple bought their ticket from a pharmacy in St Clair. Owner George Salib said he was delighted to learn the couple were locals and so deserving of the windfall.
"They were trying to sell their house as they could no longer afford the mortgage repayments," Mr Salib said.
"It couldn't have gone to a more deserving couple.".
Lotterywest says for every dollar spent on Lotto games over a third is returned to benefit the community.
In New Zealand, a proportion of Lotto NZ's profits are distributed by the Lottery Grants Board to fund various community interests and events.
- For help dealing with debt and budgeting, see familybudgeting.org.nz
- For help from harmful gambling, see choicenotchance.org.nz
Newshub.
