The winner of a R81 million Lotto jackpot will never default on his papgeld again.
The unemployed East London resident purchased his ticket at Quigney for just R15.
The jackpot was won from a draw on 27 October, two weeks before he came forward to claim his prize.
The man said the morning after the draw, at about 3am, he could not sleep and decided to check the results online.
“That’s when I found out I had won the jackpot!,” he said.
The winner said it took him two weeks to claim his winnings because he had misplaced his ID and knew he would not be able to collect his winnings without it.
The windfall came at the right time.
“I lost my job in 2019 and started doing odd jobs to make ends meet. My biggest concern was taking care of my children,” he said.
“A few weeks ago, the mother of my first child threatened to take me to the maintenance court as she was not happy with the money that I was contributing towards raising our child.
“This frustrated me as I really was giving all I could.”
“The man plans to invest most of his winnings, with his children’s education a top priority.
“I want to buy a house so my children can live comfortably. I also want to spend part of my winnings helping the homeless people in East London.
“I feel honoured that, finally, I will be able to do much more than just give a R5 coin to the homeless,” he said.
The winner received counselling and financial advice which Ithuba offers to all winners of R50 000 and above.