WHEN it comes to selling winning lottery tickets, a Ballarat newsagency seems to have the Midas touch.
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Last Saturday night, a 10-member syndicate, set up by Victoria Street News and Lotto on Victoria Street in Ballarat East, won division one and other divisional prizes in the Tattslotto’s $21 million Superdraw.
Victoria Street News and Lotto owners Allan and Jenny Burridge sold the winning ticket to the group.
Each member of the group paid $45 to enter the syndicate and have pocketed more than $264,000 in winnings.
Prior to the group’s win, Mr Burridge had aptly named the syndicate The Rich List.
“We’re just over the moon,” he said.
“I can’t believe they have come into our little shop, entered a draw and walked away with hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
It is not the first time the newsagency has sold a winning ticket.
The couple, who have owned the store for more than four years, have already sold two winning tickets before the syndicate’s win last Saturday.
Mr Burridge said in 2011, the store sold a winning Tattslotto ticket to a Ballarat pensioner who won more than $2 million.
He said among the winners was a cancer patient who travelled to Ballarat regularly for treatment.
“She was ecstatic,” Mr Burridge said.
“She said it’s not going to cure her cancer but it’s going to help with her medical fees.”
Mr Burridge said most of the winners were local residents and regular customers.
“All of the winners, except two, are from Ballarat and surrounding areas,” he said.
“It’s wonderful for us to see people so happy. All of the customers are people who could really do with the money and it’s really going to help them out a lot, which is great.”
Mr Burridge set up another six syndicates before the draw but in a twist of fate, he and his wife entered all of syndicates, except the winning one.
“You’ve got to laugh,” Mr Burridge said.
“But we have 10 happy customers and that’s all that matters.”
Mr Burridge said he hoped the store’s lucky streak continued.
He has laminated the winning ticket for each of the winners to keep as a souvenir.
The lucky numbers were 31, 30, 27, 41, 23 and 26, with the supplementary numbers of 16 and 38.
melissa.cunningham@fairfaxmedia.com.au
