'We couldn’t sleep all night': Mekong Delta family celebrates $4 mln lottery win

By Cuu Long October 17, 2016 | 01:46 am PT

Nguyen Thi Anh Dao (left) and her family in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh. They are now waiting for her father to return with the prize money. Photo by VnExpress/Cuu Long

The family told local media that they will donate part of the prize to the poor.

For now it does not feel like they have just won the jackpot.

The family in the Mekong Delta’s Tra Vinh Province is trying to live a normal life, even though they lost some sleep after learning about their lottery prize of VND92 billion, or more than $4 million.

Nguyen Thi Anh Dao, 32, said she was the one who bought the ticket with the numbers that perfectly matched the winning series 05-21-31-33-38-42 of an American-style lottery game on Sunday.

At first, based on somewhat conflicting media reports, it was unclear who was the real ticketholder, but Dao finally came forward as the lucky person.

Her 58-year-old father and several family members have traveled to Ho Chi Minh City to receive the money on her behalf. They can bring back an amount worth $3.7 million after paying a 10 percent income tax, after the lottery operator Vietlott completes all the procedures, expectedly within days.

The family, who runs a small pork business, had to check and recheck the numbers many times because they did not even believe their own luck.

“We couldn’t sleep all night," Dao said. "We were so happy and at the same time afraid of bad guys.”

While waiting for the money, the family members staying in Tra Vinh want to keep it simple: having tofu for lunch and receiving a few visitors.

Dao is the first jackpot winner since the Mega 6/45 game of state-run Vietlott debuted in Vietnam in July. Her family has not made any plans on how to spend the money.

But she promised she will donate VND80 million ($3,600) and 10,000 kilograms of rice to poor families in the neighborhood.

She said the family will also contact charity organizations to offer more help.

“I might just keep selling pork,” the woman said.

> Lucky Sunday: Vietnamese ticketholder wins $4 million lottery jackpot