Find a penny, pick it up and you'll have good luck - that saying proved to be true for Garth Stead as he made the three-millionth booking at Albury Taxis.
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The competition, marking a milestone after the co-op moved to an automated dispatch system, went off around 1pm on Saturday.
Mr Stead was being picked up at his West Albury unit and had minutes before pocketed a coin that was on his driveway.
"I got in the cab, thinking that was a good thing for the day, and it went on the three million," he said.
"When he (the driver) said you're the three-millionth, I said, 'You're having a lend of me', and he goes, 'No, listen (to the radio) - I've got it'.
"The radio went quiet and he said, 'They will all hate me now!'"
Manpreet Heer Bhangu, who has been driving with Albury Taxis for three years, wasn't expecting to host the winner.
"We got the email on Friday saying it was close, and I thought it would be on the Sunday or some other day I wasn't driving," he said.
"I got the message saying he was the lucky one."
For Mr Stead, the $500 credit in taxi fees means a lot.
"It saves a lot of walking and a lot of buses," he said.
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"It's good, because it's not great walking over the hill - I'm not that fit, I'll be honest.
"I've got doctors to go to and a bit of shopping I do, otherwise I keep to myself."
The 53-year-old, from Sydney, moved to Albury in 2006.
He's come to know Mr Bhangu's face after a few bookings, but expects to become well-acquainted with him in coming months.
"I've seen him a couple times - he's always polite and keeps the place clean, and he's a good driver," Mr Stead said.
"It (winning the prize) sure put a smile on my face."
