Plumber lands US$255 000 lotto jackpot

of the Sunday Mail under my arms. I wanted to show my wife and kids that God had at last heard our prayers.”
This was Mr Joseph Madi, the Gweru resident who landed the latest Lotto Jackpot which stood at a whopping US$255 419.
Mr Madi is a self-employed plumber hailing from Gweru’s sprawling Mkoba suburb. By scooping the grand prize of US$255 419, Mr Madi became the biggest jackpot winner in Zimbabwe since the advent of the multi-currency regime in 2009.
Mr Madi said he risked incurring his wife’s wrath after using the only dollar that was in the house that Saturday to play for lotto. And Lady Luck rescued him as he is now smiling all the way to the bank. He was only too happy to share his ‘‘the-day-I-will-never-forget’’ story with the Herald.
“I left some of the punters who were also checking for their lucky numbers wondering what had gone wrong.
“I could not show anyone for fear someone would pluck the little paper from me and that would have been the end of my joy.  I wanted to show my wife and children the big score,” he added with a smile.
With the windfall Madi could not possibly contain himself and even when he was presented with the cheque he was shaking with excitement.
Even the family was excited and had spent a good 20 minutes singing and dancing after the presentation of the cheque. As they say patience pays, Mr Madi has been playing lotto since its inception in 1999 and had won various small amounts. In the past Madi has managed to predict four correct numbers in the Lotto figures for four times, and twice five correct numbers.
“In fact, this was my 151st attempt on the big one. I did not lose heart even after experiencing a number of near misses. I kept telling myself one day I will hit the big one.”
He added “I have always placed my bet at the Lotto office in the city. The tellers for the city branch can easily recognise me.”
Even on his life transforming day he chose to wear simple trousers, a worn out cap and jacket. His plan is to buy houses for his five children so that when he dies he leaves them a worthy inheritance.
“I am elated that now I can fulfil my dream of owning a house and driving my own car. My family can now move out of my father’s house to a home of their own.
“I never thought this would happen in my lifetime but only God knows the direction of one’s life. Getting such an amount at the age of 55 means I can safely plan for the future of my children,” he said.
Mr Madi has two sons and three daughters. He said his immediate plan was to secure a house to call his own and move out of his parents’ house.
“I will sit down with my family and discuss how we can invest the money.
“This is a huge amount that requires the involvement of the entire family. That is the reason I had to be accompanied by my family to the handover.
“My wife has been supportive of my betting and I could not leave her out on this big day,” he said with a wide grin.
Behind every successful man is a woman, goes the saying — and so, too, is Mrs Phyllis Madi behind her man’s windfall! Mrs Madi could not contain her joy and declared the win as the best type of pension for her husband who has toiled for years to raise the children.
“I am happy that my husband thought of the family first after winning the grand prize.
‘‘I was sleeping when he burst into the bedroom panting and sweating and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘I won the Lotto! We are rich!’
“At first I could not believe it but after a moment I collected myself and looked at the small paper he was holding to me.
“Indeed the figures on the paper corresponded to those on the official Lotto results in the paper. We agreed that he had to re-check with the lotto offices in the city to make sure he was not mistaken,” she said.
Mrs Madi said that afternoon her husband went to see verify the digits and it was true.
“That was a life changing moment for us and since then we have turned into virtual celebrities in the area,” she said.
Mrs Madi said they agreed to inform their relatives so that they would be part of the joy.
The Madis were accompanied to the cheque presentation ceremony by relatives from their two families.
Mr Madi becomes the 122nd winner of the jackpot and the 13th after the introduction of the multi-currency regime. His winning entry comes exactly six months are the last jackpot winner.  The last winner was a gardener Mr Witness Office who scooped the coveted prize on March 3 this year pocketing US$146 930.
Statistics show that the last five winners had grossed the biggest jackpot prices totalling US$800 000 showing the popularity of the game.
Mashonaland Turf Club marketing manager Mr Chamu Mhembere said the Lotto had disbursed US$1028 799 prizes to punters ever since the introduction of the multi-currency regime.
He said a substantial amount of the money had been dispersed to different charities in the country.