Capetonian, 56, wins R58m Lotto jackpot

A CAPETONIAN is heading for what could be early retirement after becoming R58 million richer in the Lotto jackpot this past Saturday.

The 56-year-old winner is a regular PowerBall player but seldom plays the Lotto. She decided to play when she saw the high amount of the estimated jackpot prize.

“After seeing the estimated jackpot prize, I started daydreaming about how this could change my life and make it even better.

‘‘On Saturday, my husband and I decided to go out for dinner. On our way to the restaurant, I insisted to my husband that we stop at a retail store where I could play the Lotto, which I did. I put my ticket away quickly after playing and forgot about it for the evening,” she said.

The following day, her family had arranged a Mother’s Day celebration at her daughter’s house.

“On my way to my daughter’s house, I decided to check the ticket at a retail store because I had seen on the National Lottery website that one person had won the lottery jackpot.

‘‘When I inserted my ticket in the machine to check if I had won anything, the machine issued a little slip with a note that read ‘Please contact the National Lottery head office’.

‘‘I went to the cashiers to ask them if they could give me more details, and they suggested that I go to the Post Office.”

She asked her son to check her ticket.

“My son immediately told me to write my name and ID number at the back of the ticket because I had matched all six numbers.

‘‘My body just went numb, I was in total disbelief. All I could do was drink my gin,” she said.

“I will continue working for the next six months or so just so the hand-over process at work is smooth.

‘‘Ideally, I would like to invest 90% of my winnings and live off of my investments for the rest of my life.”