A Moree woman has celebrated a Christmas she’ll never forget, with a $100,000 Lucky Lotteries prize won on a ticket purchased locally and given to her by her parents on Christmas day.

The winning entry was purchased at Archie and Rhonda Karam’s Balo Square Newsagency in Moree.

The Moree ticket-holder held the first-prize winning entry in Lucky Lotteries Super Jackpot draw 11053, drawn on Christmas Eve.

She collected $100,000 and is looking forward to using the prize to help pay off the family mortgage.

The woman told an official from The Lott about her family’s tradition of gifting each other lottery tickets on special occasions.

Archie and Rhonda Karam sold the winning Christmas Eve lottery ticket, which handed a Moree family $100,000 on Christmas Day.

“This was actually a Christmas present from my parents,” she said.

“I got it Christmas morning, but I was too busy to look at it until lunchtime.

“We often give each other lottery tickets – for Christmas and birthdays.

“When I first pulled out the ticket, you think there’s not a chance in hell you’re going to win.

“It was a bit of a shock. I had to scan it again and again to be sure,” she laughed.

“It made for a great Christmas and will help pay off the mortgage.”

Ticket-selling agent Archie Karam said the $100,000 windfall was timely.

“It’s very exciting, and has made one Moree family very happy, especially at this time of year –Christmas presents don’t get much better than this,” Archie smiled.

“This is a big present, too, not a small present, that’s for sure.”

Archie said Balo Square Newsagency had handed out its share of big prizes over the years.

“This is the 17th major prize winner from this shop since it opened. We’ve been here 22 years and sold 10 of those major prizes.

“That’s not including second and third division prizes during those years. There’s been quite a few big wins,” he said.

The Lucky Lotteries Mega Jackpot prize is now $20.32 million for draw 1750, while the Lucky Lotteries Super Jackpot prize is $2.45 million for draw 11055.