TATTSLOTTO WINDFALL
BELL PARK MAN’S DIV 1 JOY
“I can’t wait to take a well-deserved break from all the pressures we’ve been up against.”
A BELL Park man is more than $700,000 richer after his 18-game QuickPick entry won a division one prize in Saturday’s Tattslotto draw.
The winning ticket, bought at NewsXpress Bell Park, was one of six across the country to share the $4.21 million prize.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, did not know his numbers had come up until he received a call while getting ready for work on Monday morning.
The loyal Geelong Football Club supporter, who answered the phone with a mouth full of toothpaste, initially thought it was the Cats, not Tatts, calling him.
“I can’t describe it. It’s fantastic,” he said of the win. “We’ve had our backs to the wall for the last two or three years and it’s felt like everything’s been going backwards. But this will change things.
“We’ll (use it to) pay the bills — got plenty of them — and a holiday will be happening once everything is settled.
“I can’t wait to take a welldeserved break from all the pressures we’ve been up against.”
The win comes on the eve of the Milton St store’s 25th birthday celebrations and is the 15th major prize won under long-time owners Andrew and Jill Robb.
“We’re over the moon with the timing and it’s certainly the icing on our business’ 25th birthday cake,” Mr Robb said.
“We wish our local customer all the best with their division one windfall.”
The Robbs opened the news, magazine and greeting card-based business in 1991, with no previous retail experience, and have since embraced a much broader offering to keep pace with demographic, financial and social media changes.
“It’s been incredibly challenging, there have been so many changes,” Mr Robb said.
“But it’s a way of life. Your customers are virtually your family.
“You see your regular (customers) every morning at particular times, you know them by name, you celebrate with them and it’s wonderful.”
NewsXpress Bell Park will celebrate its 25th birthday — and the division one win — with a sausage sizzle from 10am this Saturday.