$1.5m Keno win gets mates dining on joy
TWO mechanics who were catching up for lunch at a Cairns pub have won $1.5 million in a Club Keno jackpot.
The Cairns men, both in their early 30s, could not believe their luck when told they had randomly picked all 10 winning numbers at the Balaclava Hotel yesterday, after a New Year’s lunch catchup session.
The workmates, who did not want to be identified, told the Cairns Post they were still coming to grips with their windfall.
“My mate was pretty much spewing in the toilets after we found out,” one of the men said.
He said they were regulars at the hotel, where they had decided to try their luck over a couple of beers.
The pair spent just $10 each on the winning ticket, playing 20 $1 games.
“We don’t believe it yet. We’re just sitting here, stunned, looking at each other,” one of the winners said.
“We just came down to have some lunch while my girlfriend went shopping.
“Me and me mate just sat down and went halves on a ticket.
“We argued about which numbers to pick and had a bit of a laugh.
“We weren’t watching [when they came up] but we saw it come up that someone had won it, but our games hadn’t finished.
“We never dreamt we’d win.”
They said they were still deciding on what to spend their share of the winnings on; however, one of the winners is expected his first baby in 10 days.
Balaclava Hotel assistant manager Tim Turner said it was the largest Keno win he had seen since starting to work at the pub five years ago.
“Hopefully it shows that we’re a lucky spot and it feels fantastic to make someone’s day,” he said.
The win is the fourth $1 million-plus Keno jackpot to be won by Queenslanders in three and a half weeks, and the second to go off north of Brisbane in just 10 days.
On December 29, a $1.6 million jackpot was won by a 78year-old retiree at Cowboys Leagues Club in Townsville.
It followed a $2 million Keno jackpot won by another retiree at Rockhampton Leagues Club.
Keno’s Queensland manager, David Dicker, said the Keno team were rapt that a Queenslander had become Keno’s first millionaire for 2018.