Benalla mother $580,000 richer after finding winning lotto ticket when cleaning out her car

The Benalla woman held one of the nine division one winning entries across Australia in the TattsLotto draw on Saturday, July 2, where she picked up $580,525.35.

She revealed the ticket was in her car amongst a pile of old receipts the entire time before she came forward to claim it.

The winning entry, purchased from Benalla Pharmacy, was unregistered, which meant officials had no way of contacting the her to break the news.

"Oh my god. I had no idea," she laughed when an official from The Lott spoke to her after she claimed her prize.

"I didn't know about the win this entire time. I've been driving around with this lottery ticket worth $580,000 in my car for more than four months."

"I discovered the win when I went through a pile of old receipts and lottery tickets that had been hidden in my car.

"I took them straight to the local newsagency to check them and the lovely team member nearly started crying for me when the division one notification came up on the lottery terminal.

"The team at Benalla Pharmacy know me as a regular, so it was a really sweet moment.

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"My family and I were scared to believe the winning news until we went to The Lott head office to claim the prize.

"As soon as I told my sister and mum about the news, my sister said, 'Are you getting scammed? Where are you?' and I had to reassure her that it wasn't a scam.

"We got up in the early hours of the morning the next day and drove straight to The Lott head office in Docklands to claim the prize.

"I'm really happy and grateful to have won. This is life-changing for me."

When asked how she planned to enjoy her windfall, the woman said it would help her family buy a house and enjoy a long-overdue holiday.

"I can look forward to buying my first family home," she said.

"I'd love to book a little holiday. It's been a long time coming."

Benalla Pharmacy manager Electra Gercovish said she was over the moon to hear the mystery division one winner had finally claimed her prize and wished her all the best.

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