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Rick Rycroft

Australian wildfire victim will rebuild his family home after €617,000 lottery win

The Queensland man, who wishes to remain anonymous, used his wife’s “special numbers” on the ticket.

A VICTIM OF the Australian wildfire crisis whose uninsured family home was destroyed has become a millionaire after using his wife’s lucky numbers in the Australian lottery.

He won AUS$1 million, worth around €617,800.

The man, from Mount Cotton in Queensland, said the timing of the win was “impeccable” after recently losing his family home in the fires that continue to ravage New South Wales.

The Redlands resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said all that was left of his family’s home was a “few charred teacups”.

He said: “We didn’t know if we would ever be able to rebuild but now we definitely can!

This is amazing. I can’t get over it.

He was informed of his win, after being contacted by a lottery official. Oblivious to his good fortune, he was already at work. He asked the official: “Did I win one million dollars?

Am I seeing things? Is this real? I can’t wait to go home and give my wife a big kiss and a cuddle!

He had used his wife’s “special numbers” on the ticket: “They’ve delivered in a big way.”

The winner purchased his winning entry online at thelott.com – Australia’s official lotteries.

Across Australia, at least 25 people have been killed and 2,000 homes destroyed by the blazes with the fires expected to rage for another three to four months.

It is estimated that half a billion animals have also died in the wildfires.

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    Mute ⚡ Seánie ⚡
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    Jul 9th 2021, 1:49 PM

    I’ll just have to check their website or social media while driving now for updates….

    526
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    Mute Here's How Podcast
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    Jul 9th 2021, 3:46 PM

    @⚡ Seánie ⚡: Could this possibly be connected? https://www.broadsheet.ie/2019/02/07/jam-today-rte-and-aa-roadwatch/

    13
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    Mute Here's How Podcast
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    Jul 9th 2021, 3:53 PM

    @Here’s How Podcast: Full story on the podcast here: https://blog.hereshow.ie/2019/02/heres-how-82-rte-and-the-aa/

    11
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    Mute Billy McNamara
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    Jul 9th 2021, 8:14 PM

    @⚡ Seánie ⚡: You might have to pay for this service now|

    2
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    Mute Marko
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    Jul 9th 2021, 1:48 PM

    Elaine o Sullivan AA road watch ! I’m gonna miss her voice

    179
    RJ
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    Mute RJ
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    Jul 9th 2021, 1:52 PM

    @Marko: and Ester Moore ODonoghue

    170
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    Mute Alan McArdle
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    Jul 9th 2021, 1:59 PM

    @Marko: Arwen Foley was the one for me.

    115
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    Mute Bill Spill
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    Jul 9th 2021, 2:19 PM

    @Alan McArdle: Lorraine Keane anyone?

    27
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    Mute Adrian O'Donnell
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    Jul 9th 2021, 2:43 PM

    @Bill Spill: I certainly would. Met her at electric office many years ago. What a lady

    15
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    Mute lelookcoco
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    Jul 9th 2021, 3:12 PM

    @Adrian O’Donnell: Electric Office? Were you having a picnic together?

    15
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    Mute Gary Creaven
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    Jul 9th 2021, 3:57 PM

    @Marko: sometimes sounded like she said the A 3 times. Maybe she’d been out the night before.

    3
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    Mute theseadoc
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    Jul 9th 2021, 1:46 PM

    No more rind-a-bits being busy so.

    176
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    Mute Stuart
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    Jul 9th 2021, 1:50 PM

    @theseadoc: nothing will stop the dunkettle interchange being blocked

    299
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    Mute Stephen O'Sullivan
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    Jul 9th 2021, 8:18 PM

    @Stuart:

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    Mute Stephen O'Sullivan
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    Jul 9th 2021, 8:18 PM

    @Stuart:

    1
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    Mute Stephen O'Sullivan
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    Jul 9th 2021, 8:19 PM

    @Stuart: ah the memories of random places we only know through this broadcast! They might not even exist half of them.

    13
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    Mute John Nolan
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    Jul 9th 2021, 1:48 PM

    Typical big buyer slashing overheads, and never mind who it affects.

    137
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    Mute Conor King
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    Jul 9th 2021, 2:05 PM

    @John Nolan: Ridiculous comment. Are they not entitled to make business decisions in their own interests? Why don’t you set up a traffic notification service and provide it to radio stations if it means so much to you?

    149
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    Mute Shay Murray
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    Jul 9th 2021, 1:58 PM

    What ever became of electric Eddie, eye in the sky… Probably dead and buried somewhere on the Con Colbert road, the only location with traffic back in the day

    108
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    Mute Colm Molloy
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    Jul 9th 2021, 7:24 PM

    @Shay Murray: it’s driver is stuck at the Red Cow Roundabout

    8
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    Mute Sean Walsh
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    Jul 9th 2021, 2:49 PM

    Who’s going to provide traffic reports for the radio stations now ? It’s a major loss for serious road users. It was fantastic to hear the traffic reports on the hour after the news and if something was happening on the road your driving on, you were notified of it. Another backwards step. In the UK, you don’t even have to wait for the news, the traffic reports interrupt whatever station your listening to.

    61
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    Mute OConnelj
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    Jul 9th 2021, 8:30 PM

    @Sean Walsh: that is because the traffic situation in the UK is an absolute ball breaker. Not even comparable to here. Or was a ball breaker, pre covid..

    8
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    Mute Michael Holland
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    Jul 9th 2021, 2:20 PM

    Laren behan … a beautiful voice !

    38
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    Mute This time its personable!
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    Jul 9th 2021, 2:28 PM

    How will I find my in into the meeja now, love island won’t take me, AA roadwatch gone, crimewatch auditions go nowhere, and I won’t stoop to fair city levels just yet!

    33
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    Mute Leadóg
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    Jul 9th 2021, 2:57 PM

    At least that’s a few annoying voices off the airwaves.

    22
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    Mute Jimmy Reid
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    Jul 9th 2021, 1:48 PM

    Useless anyway. Radio reports are brutal. Dublin 103.2 for traffic reports in real time.

    58
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    Mute Ronan McKeon
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    Jul 9th 2021, 2:30 PM

    @Jimmy Reid: hasn’t been the same since John left though.

    11
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    Mute Michael
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    Jul 9th 2021, 4:06 PM

    Was never helpful to me. Everytime it was the same report “traffic heavy on the dunnekettle” its always heavy.

    16
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    Mute The world outside the M50
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    Jul 10th 2021, 9:54 AM

    @Michael: The AA are losing money – most if not all insurance companies or garages provide breakdown cover

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    Mute HarveyLemonade
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    Jul 9th 2021, 1:47 PM

    Have they an app? They could seek to integrate their real time info with Google maps.

    15
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    Mute Karl Mullen
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    Jul 9th 2021, 1:49 PM

    @HarveyLemonade: Where there’s a will, there’s a Waze.

    62
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    Mute
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    Jul 9th 2021, 1:59 PM

    @HarveyLemonade: you can see traffic build ups on Google maps and Apple maps if you Amber lines on maps that’s traffic build up and red lines is traffic at a stop. Also Apple maps is eventually bringing in incident reporting to Ireland like Waze where you can report traffic, accidents speed checks etc

    29
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    Mute Kieran Woods
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    Jul 9th 2021, 2:54 PM

    Patnav on Nova will have to do.

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    Mute Daniel Condren
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    Jul 9th 2021, 2:45 PM
    11
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    Mute John Kenny
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    Jul 9th 2021, 3:59 PM

    Bring back The eye in the Sky ! Helicopter service.

    10
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    Mute The Firestarter
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    Jul 9th 2021, 4:29 PM

    They were always rubbish anyway. I well remember the bad old days when I lived in Kildare, and you’d regularly hit a monster traffic jam on the N7 that AA Roadwatch would conveniently have forgotten to mention.

    17
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    Mute Colm Molloy
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    Jul 9th 2021, 7:25 PM

    Lorraine Keane, AA Roadwatch

    6
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    Mute Mary Fitzsimons
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    Jul 9th 2021, 2:46 PM

    Why? Nooooooooo!

    6
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    Mute Don O'Connor
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    Jul 10th 2021, 3:43 PM

    No more helpful mentions of their names by RTÉ presenters in order to help them up on the “celebrity” bandwagon ” ah well Swings and rindeabouts I suppose.

    2
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    Mute Roddy Wyer
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    Jul 9th 2021, 9:18 PM

    No more traffic “Nooze” then?

    2
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    Mute OConnelj
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    Jul 9th 2021, 5:09 PM

    Karen Chew all day long.

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    Mute Peter Bell
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    Jul 9th 2021, 5:36 PM

    Anyone remember the ozzie girl,BUMPER TO BUMPER..

    3
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    Mute OConnelj
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    Jul 9th 2021, 6:04 PM

    @Peter Bell: that does rind a bell Peter.

    2
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    Mute OConnelj
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    Jul 9th 2021, 6:04 PM

    @Peter Bell: that does ring a bell Peter.

    2
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    Mute Colm Sliney
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    Jul 10th 2021, 8:58 AM

    Can’t read websites while driving

    1
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    Mute The world outside the M50
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    Jul 10th 2021, 9:52 AM

    Delighted.
    The AA and RTÉ themselves are no longer of any relevance.
    What motorist would wish to have constant blabbering on a radio, same format from the same sounding stations who constantly have to announce their frequency or name to stay relevant.
    Get an iPod or a subscription to Spotify or similar.

    1
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