ALMOST $5 million in monthly payments are shaping as the surprise of a lifetime for an unaware Hunter lottery player.
Lottery officials said a Wednesday night win in the Set for Life draw, which would hand the winner $20,000 a month for 20 years, had been traced to a ticket sold in the region.
It was the only top division winner in the country in the draw, and the second win in the category linked to Newcastle this month.
"Both winning entries are unregistered, which means officials from The Lott have no way of contacting the mystery winners to break the life-changing news," the lottery firm said in a statement.
The most recent winner bought their ticket at Waratah LPO and Newsagency on Turton Road.
Owner Michael Phillips said he was proud to have delivered the cash to a customer.
"It's incredible news.," he said.
"We've been encouraging all of our players to check their tickets in the hopes we can unite this winner with their prize as soon as possible.
The other winner's claim stems from an October 9 draw, and their ticket was sold at Beaumont Street's Nina's IGA.
The Lott spokeswoman Ally Ramsamy said she was eager to find the winners.
"If you realise you're holding a winning ticket, hold on tight to it and give us a call immediately on 131 868 to confirm your win and start the prize claim process," she said.
Wednesday's winning numbers were 42, 24, 15, 9, 30, 38 and 11, with 3 and 14 the supplementaries.
