On January 17th, 2009, just forty eight hours after becoming a millionaire, fifty-nine year old "Ray", was back on the site at the NSW tea plantation where he has worked for fourteen years. Most people in his situation would be handing out a resignation letter and buying a ticket to some great vacation spot but "Ray" said that he has no plans of resigning because he loves his job.
The widowed father-of-two, living in the town of Pottsville on the state's North Coast, won a total of $1.2 million in keno jackpot. "Ray", who has requested for his surname not be divulged, had bought a $100 worth of keno ticket every week for about 6 weeks and had a feeling that he might get lucky in a big way.
"Ray" said that he always had a feeling that he would win something really big one day. "Ray" added that he went white and start shaking like a leaf when he learned that he won the keno jackpot. He said that he asked for 2 glasses of water, then stepped outside and poured it over his head.
But "Ray" said that his big keno win is bittersweet because he cannot share it with his wife, who died of cancer five years ago. "Ray", who is originally from New Zealand moved to Pottsville almost twenty-two years ago. "Ray" said that he did not expect the big jackpot to radically change his whole life. He said that he will still remain the same, especially his habit of drinking and gambling during weekend.
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John Sullivan
