‘Is this for real?’: Couple wins $26.9M in lottery jackpot

A Sydney couple were nodding off to sleep when a call came through to say they were $40m (about $26.9 million USD) richer after winning this week’s Oz Lotto draw.

The husband and wife from Galston, in the city’s north west, bought their 18-game ticket from Kenthurst Cellars.

They were the only division one winners in Tuesday’s draw, meaning they will take home the entire jackpot.

Officials from The Lott called the winning man and woman immediately after the draw.

“You’re joking! Oh my god!” the woman said to an official.

“Is this really for real?” her husband questioned.

“I’m just gobsmacked. I just can’t believe it,” the happy woman added.

“I was just nodding off, falling asleep when you rang.”

The woman said she usually played Powerball but bought an Oz Lotto ticket on a whim.

“In our dreams we’ve thought about what we’d do with a big win, but you never think it’s going to come true,” she told The Lott.

“It’s unreal!”

The winning numbers were 18, 1, 42, 33, 15, 36 and 10, and the supplementary numbers were 9, 12 and 27.

The man said despite being an instant millionaire, he would still be going to work tomorrow.

“This is going to give us some time. It buys us time to be able to do the things we want to do,” he said.

“And help the people in your life that have helped you and you want to help them back.

“I always say that I’ve already won the lottery because I live in Australia, I’m healthy and I met my beautiful wife.”

This year 12 division one winners have shared more than $82m [about $55.2 million USD] in prize money across the Western and Blue Mountains region.

In 2023 16 people shared in $330.8m [about $222.7 million USD] in division one prizes across the country.