Imagine waking up on an ordinary Saturday, doing your thing, and then finding out that you’re a multi-millionaire.

145 times over, to be precise.

That’s the dream for anyone who plays the Lotto, and for this Mpumalanga based couple, it actually happened.

A 34-year-old engineer and his wife have been playing the Lotto three times a week since their varsity days. Their persistence finally paid off when, on Saturday afternoon, they found out that they’d won the R145 million PowerBall jackpot.

Times LIVE reports that:

Thabo* arrived at the Ithuba offices in Sandton‚ Johannesburg‚ on Tuesday alongside his 30-year-old wife to claim their winnings.

Dressed in matching outfits with his wife Lynette*‚ he expressed absolute disbelief at being a multi-millionaire.

“It was not easy to make the call [to claim the winnings]‚” Thabo said‚ adding that he found out on Saturday afternoon that he was indeed the winner.

“I needed to properly digest it and accept that my life has changed‚” he added.

I wouldn’t have had any trouble making the call, and then making a second call to a travel agency to book the most epic holiday ever.

For obvious reasons the couple wanted to remain anonymous, so Thabo and Lynette aren’t their real names. Lynette says that everyone has been on the hunt for the winners:

“You can’t even open your phone without hearing that they are looking for you‚” Lynette said.

The couple spent the entire weekend indoors‚ digesting their fortune. They finally made the call to the Ithuba offices on Monday afternoon and were told to come in.

Lynette said one of the toughest things was keeping mum at work as her colleagues discussed the winner’s fate.

“They were saying ‘guys‚ this money has been won right here’. I had to pretend and [also comment]‚” the soft-spoken Lynette said.

Although the cash will definitely up their living standards, the couple weren’t struggling financially:

“I have between R20‚000 and R30‚000 in my account right now‚” said Thabo. “Even growing up‚ I can’t say we struggled but it was a life of hustling‚” he said.

The toughest time he ever went through was shortly after he qualified as an engineer. “There was a time I spent a while looking for a job and I would never want anyone to experience that‚” he said.

Yeah dude, I feel you. Try looking for work with a humanities degree. The struggle is real.

Thabo and Lynette don’t have any plans for the cash yet, apart from paying off their car.

I have some ideas if they want to swing some my way.

[source:timeslive]