Real Life

Lotto winner splits $15m jackpot with mate

You're joking, you're joking!

Winning the lottery is something most of us only dream about. But still, we often think about how we might spend the winnings – on cars, houses and boats.

We even make vague promises with family or friends to split the jackpot. But more often than not, with losing tickets we never have to make good on such pacts.

One lucky winner found himself in the enviable position of having his Lotto dream come true, bagging $15 million. And in the ultimate gesture, he’s honoured a long-standing vow with his best mate to split the winnings.

He’s gifting his friend a whopping $7.5 million!

The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he broke the news to his friend over a weekly catch up.

“I really wanted to surprise him, so handed him a photocopy of my winning ticket and the slip of paper with $15 million printed on it. He looked at the paper, then at me with his mouth hanging open, pointing at the piece of paper.

“I just gave him the thumbs up and said ‘I won the big one – and half of it’s yours!'”

He said his friend could not believe it, repeating “you’re joking, you’re joking!”

The incredible gift does, however, come with a catch or three.

“When I gave him the $7.5 million I told him there were three conditions – to look after our mates, help the community and that he’s paying for a group of our mates to go on our dream holiday.”

The generous Lotto winner hasn’t stopped at sharing his winnings with his friend. He’s also given each of his family members a cheque for $25,000.

“They all opened their envelopes at the same time, then looked at me in surprise and I said, ‘Yip, I had the winning ticket’.”

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