Garry Ryan and his wife won $52,000 in the Cash is King giveaway at the Wagga RSL Club. Photo: Wagga RSL.
It’s been the same order for years for Garry Ryan: “half-a-dozen beers”.
The 59-year-old Wagga resident is a regular at the Wagga RSL Club, choosing to wash down his hard lawn mowing work with a cold one at least every couple of days. But on the night of Saturday 17 December, he got very lucky. He won the biggest-ever cash prize in the club’s history.
“I’ve never won anything before in my life, so I’m pretty shocked,” he said.
The ‘Cash is King’ draw puts $1000 up for grabs every third Thursday of the month, at the Wagga RSL. To enter, all you have to do is be a member, make an accumulated $10 spend, swipe your membership card and be there at the time of the draw.
Each finalist is also invited to take part in a major draw towards the end of year. For 2022, that date was 17 December and the amount was $52,000 – the largest sum of cash the club has ever given away in one draw.
Garry’s regularity at the club had set him up well for snagging the winning ticket. He’s now excited to use the money for a well-earned break with his wife.
“Normally, I’m running around mowing people’s lawns at the moment, but I’ve now got the chance to take a break,” he said.
Garry spent his working life laying bricks alongside his brother at construction sites in Wagga and Sydney. Now anticipating a 60th birthday next year, he’s on the pension and to help make ends meet, mows lawns in the area.
His wife is from Thailand, and the couple try to visit her family once a year when they can.
“Her father passed away last year and we couldn’t go because of COVID restrictions and money was a little bit tight, but now we’ve got this,” he said.
“The money will help us go for a bit of a holiday over there sometime next year, probably two to three weeks long.”
In the meantime, he’s crossing his fingers lightning strikes the same place twice.
“I visited my mother in Tumut last week, and bought a lottery ticket while I was up there,” he said.
Visit Wagga RSL for more information.
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