A Devonport couple has confessed to holding onto their $50,000 winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket for more than one year, declaring they had to ‘wait for the right time to claim their winnings’.

The $4 Beehive Bingo Instant Scratch-Its was purchased at Centre Newsagency & Lotto, Woolworths Arcade, 74 Best Street, Devonport.

“It’s great! We’d won it about 12 months ago,” he exclaimed.

“We were having a cup of coffee one afternoon, and we decided to scratch the Instant Scratch-Its.

“I said to my wife, ‘We have one number to go!’, and she relayed back to me, ‘We always have one number to go, but we never win!’. She didn’t expect us to have the last number to win the top prize.

“When we scratched $50,000, we were very subdued. We just couldn’t believe we’d won. We were stunned!

“We made the decision to hold onto the ticket until we were in Queensland for a holiday. We preferred to claim the prize in-person, rather than mailing in.

“We got to experience the winning feeling for even longer!

“We haven’t celebrated yet, but we’re planning to purchase an electric car.

“Once that’s parked in the garage, maybe we will celebrate!”

Centre Newsagency & Lotto owner Sourav Kumar said he’s happy to see the family claim their winning Instant Scratch-Its top prize.

“The previous owner had actually sold the top prize to the customer, and we’ve been eagerly waiting for the family to claim their prize – we’re super happy for them,” he said.

“It’s always a great feeling to see our customers win big. It passes on hopes and dreams to others!

“Centre Newsagency & Lotto has sold a $200,000 and $50,000 top prize winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket before. We can’t wait to see our next big win!

“Congratulations to the family on behalf of the entire team. We wish you all the best with your prize.”