Chip, chip, hooray! Albany great-grandmother wins $100,000 scratchie prize

An Albany great-grandmother is celebrating a $100,000 Scratch’n’Win prize with a simple but heartfelt celebration – a “bucket of chips” with her large and growing family.

The woman uncovered her prize after purchasing the winning ticket from Albany Lottery News & Gifts and taking it home to enjoy on her patio in the sunshine.

What started as a quiet afternoon quickly turned into an unforgettable moment.

“When I thought I won, I called my husband screaming,” the winner said.

The couple checked the ticket in disbelief before heading back to Albany Lottery News & Gifts where staff confirmed the Top Prize win.

Still in shock, the woman acted fast. She immediately booked a flight to Perth to claim her prize and called her daughter, who lives in Perth, to break the good news - and secure a lift from the airport.

“I’ve never felt so overwhelmed, excited and speechless,” she said.

A proud matriarch, the winner has eight children, 17 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren making the celebration a truly family affair.

Her plans for the prize are to renovate her bathroom, repaint her home and treat her family to a classic shared meal.

“We’re going to celebrate with a bucket of chips. We’ll need a huge one for all the family” she said.

The great-grandmother revealed she has used the same wooden clothes peg, carefully sanded down by her grandson years ago, to scratch her tickets for more than a decade.

In a full-circle moment, that same grandson has now crafted her a brand-new peg with a perfect sharp edge to scratch with, to mark the milestone win.

Thanks to WA players and local retailers, available profits from every Lotterywest ticket sold goes back to the WA community in the form of grants.

A Lotterywest grant of $12,845 is supporting The Remarkable Everyday Project, a series of creative storytelling workshops that will celebrate Albany’s bicentenary, strengthen community connections and showcase local stories through photography and film.

Tonight’s Powerball jackpot gives WA players the chance to win a $20 million prize. Tickets are available until 6pm today in-store, online or through the Lotterywest App.

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