Sydney man hangs up on Lotteries official ringing to tell him he won $18m

Tuesday's OzLotto prize was A$50m, shared by three winners. Photo / 123RF

By Dana McCauley

A Sydney man hung up on a Lotteries official calling to tell him he'd won nearly A$17 million ($18m).

The newly-minted millionaire from Manly was initially so stunned by the life-changing call that he slammed the phone down.

After managing to regain his composure, he went and checked his ticket and confirmed that it was true.

"Are you serious!?! You are kidding me! I can't believe it ... You have made my whole life! How amazing is this?" the man told Oz Lotto.

"When you rang before I thought it was a bit strange. But then I went and grabbed my ticket, then I checked my ticket and saw the numbers!"

One of three winners to split Tuesday night's A$50 million jackpot, the man had marked his winning entry using family birthdates.

"Earlier today I thought I'd love to win. I was just thinking in my head driving along, and lo and behold I won! I can't believe it!" he said, adding that planned to invest his winnings and have "a happy life".

"I can't believe it! I'm in shock," he said.

"It's sort of sunk in, but it hasn't. I don't know what to think. I don't know what to say. I'm lost for words!"

A Queensland woman from the Brisbane suburb of Carindale and a Western Australian man were the other winners in the draw.

The woman screamed "for several minutes" when told she'd won A$16.7 million, Oz Lotto said.

"Oh my god! You've stopped my heart! I need my heart fixed!" the woman said. "Oh my god! I just won $16 million! Holy sh*t!"

She said she needed to let the news sink in before deciding how she would spend the windfall.

"I can't wait to call my husband and tell him!" she said, adding that the pair would share the winnings with their family.