RSL winner opts to sell prize complex
WHEN Gold Coast horticulturalist Nick Matthews found out he had won an entire apartment complex in Palm Beach, the first thing he did was seek financial advice.
The 30-year-old received a phone call from the RSL Art Union in May to inform he had won the $6 million prize.
The newly-built complex at 1453 Gold Coast Hwy comprises five modern fullyfurnished apartments, including a double-storey penthouse with ocean views.
“I was stunned and stereotypically speechless,” said Mr Matthews, who missed several calls from the RSL after having worked a night shift. “I think I said ‘wow’ about 20 times.”
That same night Mr Matthews searched online for a financial adviser who has since been helping him navigate the process of managing such a windfall.
“That night I looked up lotto wins and read about the high percentage of people who waste it or lose it,” he said. “It really is an emotional rollercoaster, what you go through. I wanted someone with a steady head to keep me grounded and explain what it all means.
“I’ve never had $100,000 in my bank account let alone any larger amount so I didn’t know what that meant.
“I want this to last me a lifetime, not just the next five years.”
Mr Matthews purchased his winning ticket on a whim after a planned cruise holiday was cancelled, leaving him with $100 cash to splash.
“I don’t even know how I ended up on the RSL Art Union website,” he said.
“I never normally buy lotto tickets or spend money on raffles.”
Mr Matthews and his partner Tamesha, who rent a modest townhouse in Willow
Vale on the northern Gold Coast, spent a week lapping up the penthouse life.
Featuring five bedrooms, three bathrooms and two living areas, the 261sq m penthouse has been professionally styled to the tune of $160,000 and would rent for $104,000 per year.
“It was hard to pull ourselves away, especially having stayed in the penthouse,” Mr Matthews said. “It was so lovely waking up and walking to the beach and the cafes, it’s all very enticing.”
But with family and friends on the northern Gold Coast and work in Brisbane, Mr Matthews made the difficult decision to sell.
The couple plans to buy a home once the sale is settled and invest the rest.
The entire building is for sale in an expressions of interest campaign led by Ray White agent Jackson Paradise, with a penthouse, subpenthouse and three twobedroom apartments on offer.