Australia

Australian couple buy $450,000 lottery ticket by accident

An Australian couple who won a lottery jackpot of nearly $500,000 said they actually bought their ticket by accident while trying to enter a different drawing.

The Hastings Point, New South Wales, couple told The Lott officials they were on a road trip across Australia when they stopped into the newsXpress Central Highlands in Emerald, Queensland.

The couple said they bought their ticket for the Sept. 12 Saturday Gold Lotto drawing by accident when trying to buy a ticket for a different drawing.

“Can you believe I was actually meant to buy a ticket into another draw? This was actually the wrong ticket,” the man said. “It was a complete mistake, a very good mistake.”

The couple said their winnings will help them upgrade their traveling plans.

“We’ve been living in our caravan in Queensland for the past few months, so this means we can update it and get a new one,” the man said. “We will also share it with our family and use some for more traveling. The rest we will save for the future.”