Fisherman reels in monster catch
A CAIRNS commercial fisherman has hooked the big one, winning a $100,000 Keno jackpot.
The young man, who did not want to be identified, picked the lucky numbers at The Jack Hotel on Thursday afternoon, and has since gone back out to sea for work.
The hotel’s duty manager Jazmin Ong said she was in as much shock as the winner when she realised she’d sold the ticket.
“I started freaking out, shaking, it was so overwhelming,” she said.
“We walked into the pokie room to let the winner know... he just stood up in silence he was so shocked.
“Then there was a big round of applause – it made my day, it was such an awesome feeling.”
Ms Ong said the man came into The Jack every few months with workmates when they returned to the city following fishing trips.
“They come in to have a play, a splurge, after being on the boats,” she said.
“It was good to see the money go to someone so hard working – he was very grateful.”
It’s the latest in a string of lucky wins for Far North residents, with a Cairns couple scoring $1 million from a Golden Casket ticket bought at Trinity Beach News earlier this month.
The Jack general manager John Lynch said the Keno win- ner had been too shocked to say what he planned to do with the money.
“I don’t think he was able to process what he would do,” Mr Lynch said.
“He was obviously in disbelief that he’d won such a large sum of money.
“Then his friends started celebrating, yelling, all the rest of it.”
Keno’s rules mean the lucky fisherman had to wait 24 hours before he could access his winnings, potentially saving him a large portion of it.
“He was due back at work (yesterday) anyway, so maybe it was a good thing,” Mr Lynch said.