"Holy sh*t! You are kidding me?"
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Those are the words an Inverell woman yelled down the phone on Monday when she heard the news she'd won one of just four Lotto division one prizes in Australia.
Newsagency owner Anthony Michael said the news will be a morale boost for Inverell, which has been battered by drought, bushfires and now the pandemic.
"It's been particularly tough for Inverell these past two years, so this is just awesome," he said.
"The whole community will be ecstatic for our winner.
"The winner called me before to let me know. She wasn't sure if it was real. She is very happy now!
"It's a life-changing win and I couldn't be more thrilled that we've helped one of our customers become a millionaire."
It's the first million-dollar win at the newsagent in the small town, he said.
The new millionaire did not want to be identified, but said she had stepped out of work to answer a personal call only to be blown away by the news she may never need to go back.
She's now considering retiring from work to write a book and going back to study.
But, she said, she's also going to shout the family a holiday - next year.
"I am definitely going to do some celebrating. I will have some champagne and call my family on Skype for a bit of a celebration party. They live all over Australia, so that's the best we can do at the moment.," she said.
Her win came care of a 12-game QuickPick entry purchased from Inverell Newsagency in the New England town's main street.
There have been 156 winners of the lottery's division one in the 2021 financial year so far, including 39 in NSW.
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