Israeli man wins NIS 40 million lottery jackpot with 'last-ever ticket'

An Israeli man in his 50s collected the NIS 40 million jackpot won in Tuesday's Mifal Hapayis' national lottery on Wednesday.

The man, a married father who resides in central Israel, revealed while accepting his grand prize that the winning ticket he had sent the weekend prior was the final one he had intended to send.

"I've been filling in a lottery ticket for two months, I only fill in one number and have it automatically complete the rest," he excitedly told Mifal Hapayis after collecting the 40 million shekels. "Last weekend, as I was sending my ticket, I made a decision - if it is not the winning ticket, I will completely abandon the idea of winning the lottery."

The Israeli discovered that his final ticker indeed won him the 40 million prize after logging in to the lottery account on Wednesday morning. "I burst into my son's room and woke him by screaming 'we won!'...my son, unaware of what is happening, replied, 'dad, not now.'"

"I don't know if I am more happy or scared, since this is a very large amount of money," the son was cited by his father as saying.

The Israeli further revealed that his wife does not know yet due to her being at work at the time of the discovery. "I have not told her anything yet, I cannot wait to tell her when she gets home."

The man also went into detail regarding how he will reveal the exciting news to his wife, saying that he plans to "nonchalantly ask her what she wants more than anything else in the world.

"Since I already know the answer, which is to reduce the demands of her job, I will happily reveal to her that we can now make her wishes come true," the man said.

How can an Israeli family spend NIS 40 million?

The man also went into detail about future plans for himself and his family, following the NIS 40 million windfall.

"What will I do with the money? help the kids purchase property and reach their potential," he explained. "My wife and I are financially prudent, we've been handling our money correctly. We are very satisfied with all that we have achieved thus far and do not feel that anything fundamental will change after our win.

He also said that plans are in the works to send the entire family abroad for a summer vacation, as it is "something that we have wanted to do but has not been possible for many years.

"Now, there are no more excuses," the man joked.