The couple now plan to help the family with the prize money. (Representational Pic)
An Australian couple hit the lottery jackpot twice in one week, winning over a million dollars. The prize money doubled because the husband forgot to submit the wife's preferred ticket numbers during the draw last week after which she became angry. Hoping to make up for the mistake, the man bought another ticket and submitted it for the draw. The couple from Dapto, just south of Wollongong, were awarded $2 million Australian dollars (USD 1.3 million) for winning the two division one prizes on the Monday Lotto.
"It's actually a funny story as to why we ended up with the same entry twice," the man told The Lott, according to news.com.au.
"I forgot to put my wife's numbers on last week, and she wasn't too happy with me. So, this week I thought I'd put them on twice to make up for it," the anonymous lotto winner added.
The man said his wife had been submitting the same numbers for three decades. His effort bore fruit and both the tickets hit jackpot.
"This morning she kept crossing off number after number on her ticket, and once we realised we'd won $1 million on one ticket, I thought I should probably tell her about the second identical ticket too," he told the outlet.
"I can't believe this has happened to us," the man added.
The couple now plan to help the family with the prize money. "I can buy my daughter a house. I can set up the children and grandchildren for the future" said the woman.
The New York Post said the odds of buying just one winning ticket are one in 1.845 million.