Punters in Woodlands strike 4D after lion dance troupe gives out 'winning' numbers

As Chinese New Year celebrations came to a close last weekend, some lucky punters in Woodlands ended the festive season with a bang, and plenty of extra bucks. 

It all started when the owner of a clothing store located at Block 303 Woodlands Street 31 hosted some guests last Sunday (Feb 5) with food and a lion dance troupe to celebrate, reported Shin Min Daily News. 

At the end of their performance, the lion dance troupe provided guests with the 'lucky numbers' 0770, forming them with oranges, pineapple husks, spring onions and bananas. 

Several of these enterprising guests, consisting of residents and owners of the nearby shops, then went to place their bets on different permutations of the numbers — and were in for a pleasant surprise. 

The first prize of that night's draw? 7070.

Lin, who runs a hair salon in the vicinity, told the Chinese daily: "We bought the numbers and won $8,000, we're very happy that we got so lucky. I'm going to treat my colleagues to a meal." 

The 50-year-old further explained that she was not present at the celebrations because of work, but a friend shared the winning digits with her.

Another lucky punter, Liao, said she spent about five dollars placing her bet and ended up winning more than $1,000. 

"I'm very happy, but I heard that some shop owners won more than $10,000," divulged the 56-year-old cashier, who added that this is the first year that the clothing store boss has resumed CNY celebrations after the pandemic. 

The lion dance troupe's predictions not only blessed those present at the celebration, but even some passers-by. 

"I just happened to be passing by when I saw the numbers [given by the lion dance troupe], I shared the numbers with my friends and family. Many of them won a prize, so we're all very happy," said Cai, a 64-year-old retiree. 

Three winners share $12m Toto jackpot  

Speaking of striking gold, three lucky punters also walked away with $4.27m each after the results of the annual Hong Bao Draw were announced last Friday. 

One of the winning tickets, which was sold at Sheng Moh Fruits and Provision Store in Clementi, cost just $1 since it was a QuickPick Ordinary Entry.

The other two punters that won big were a QuickPick System Seven and a System Seven entry, which cost $7 each from a Singapore Pools outlet along Bencoolen Street and Tampines Street 81 respectively.

The winning numbers were 4, 6, 21, 25, 34, 40, with an additional number of 48.

ALSO READ: $12m Toto Hong Bao Draw: Queue goes around whole floor in this mall

claudiatan@asiaone.com