Durban - What would you do with an instant R1million?
A Phoenix mother was dumbfounded when her name was picked in a lucky casino draw, and believes a prayer of thanks is in order before celebrating her big win.
Basirath Rajaram, 57, was not in a “winning mood” last Friday, but after being convinced by her husband, Harry, 62, she tagged along to Sibaya Casino for what would become a night she would never forget.
Rajaram’s ticket was drawn from a box of 250 hopeful entrants at Sibaya’s Golden Ticket promotion, making her the sixth instant millionaire of this year’s competition.
The mother-of-three and grandmother of one won the Golden Ticket in August, which gained her entry in extravagant competitions she had attended but never won.
Still gushing about her win, she said: “I was walking out of the room where the draw was being held when my name was called after Aunty Rumba (Durban comedienne Jailoshini Naidoo) drew my ticket. I just stood there, shocked, while my husband told me, ‘go go, you won’.”
After collecting the giant cheque, the couple went home and relived the joyous moment.
“I couldn’t eat or sleep. I just sat on the bed the whole night, smiling. It was a happy kind of shock,” she said.
“I never thought I would see seven numbers in my account. Before we won, my husband joked that he’d phone our daughter and say we won the jackpot. Now it’s true.”
Rajaram had gambled at the casino for years and before her win, spent thousands of rands before giving up and waiting for the lucky draw instead.
While she lives comfortably with her earnings from her husband’s small construction business, she believes the windfall will see to their financial needs well into retirement.
“I thank God,” she said.
Sibaya Casino marketing manager Robbie Naidoo said there had been a great response to the promotion. “We’ve created five millionaires and seven half-millionaires in recent months.”