Chopstick maker wins 6 million baht lottery jackpot in Thailand

A man from Buriram province in northeast Thailand who makes chopsticks for a living won the first prize of 6 million baht in the lottery yesterday.

Prayat Khosuk, a 40 year old craftsman from Nong Bon subdistrict, travelled to Prakhon Chai Police Station to record evidence of his winnings yesterday.

The lucky winner said that his occupation is making OTOP products (One Tambon One Product). OTOP is a programme that supports locally made products from Thailand’s 7,255 “tambons.”

Prayat primarily makes wooden chopsticks and spoons from palm tree wood. He said he has been making OTOP products with a group of local people for a long time and they make enough profit.

The chopstick maker said that he was working, as usual, yesterday when a lottery seller came around selling tickets before the national draw.

Prayat joked that the number he chose didn’t come to him in a dream. He said he chose a ticket ending with the number “19” for no other reason than he liked the look of the number. The ticket was numbered 843019.

Lo and behold, the number 843019 was drawn as the first prize in yesterday’s lottery draw. When Prayat realised he won 6 million baht (US$176,000) he took his ticket to Prakhon Chai Police Station to record evidence of his prize.

As for the money, Prayat said he will use it to pay off debts first. Anything leftover, Prayat said he will use as capital for career investment and use to pay for his children’s education.

Yesterday, one lucky Thai national won 36 million baht after buying six digital lottery tickets with the number 843019.

The GLO revealed that 19 tickets with the winning number were bought through their digital platform before yesterday’s draw, totalling 114 million baht in winnings.

Another seller reported that someone bought 15 winning lottery tickets with the number 843019 yesterday, gaining 90 million baht in winnings.

A man in Bangkok won 4,000 baht in the April 1 lottery draw. He got drunk to celebrate, climbed a tree and fell asleep tangled in Bangkok’s haphazard cables.