Two Men Killed in Tragic Crash at Fairy Hill

Two men have died following a single-vehicle crash near Casino in northern New South Wales overnight.

Emergency services were called to Droneys Bridge Road at Fairy Hill about 10pm on Wednesday, 26 March 2025, after reports that a vehicle had left the roadway and entered the Richmond River.

Upon arrival, officers from the Richmond Police District found the vehicle submerged. A 22-year-old female occupant had managed to escape from the vehicle and was found uninjured at the scene.

With assistance from Police Rescue and NSW SES crews, the vehicle was retrieved from the river. Tragically, the bodies of two men—believed to be in their 20s—were located inside. Formal identification is yet to be completed.

A crime scene has been established as investigations continue into the cause of the crash. A report will be prepared for the Coroner.

Droneys Bridge Road remains closed while inquiries are underway, and motorists are advised to avoid the area.

From Trash to Treasure: Casino Couple Almost Bin $95,000 Winning Keno Ticket

 Jeff Gibbs

A Casino couple has been revealed as the region’s latest Keno winners, almost throwing away a $95,000 jackpot ticket before realizing their life-changing fortune.

The lucky couple, who purchased the Keno Mega Millions 8 Spot ticket at Casino RSM Club, confessed they had no idea they’d won the $95,026.60 prize in draw 302 on Monday, 10 February 2025.

Incredibly, it was the wife’s first time playing Keno and the husband’s first time in years.

“We Almost Threw It Out!”

Speaking about the surreal experience, the winning husband shared how close they came to losing their prize.
“We didn’t even know at first! My wife and I went for lunch on Monday and played a few games but left before checking our ticket,” he said.
“A few days later, we saw a post saying the club was looking for their 8 Spot winner from Monday.

“Lucky we still had the ticket! I was surprised to see it still sitting on the bench and not in the bin.”

The husband admitted their decision to play was spontaneous.
“Funnily enough, I hadn’t played in years, and my wife had never played, but we said, ‘bugger it, let’s give it a go.’ It’s still surreal.”

The couple plans to use their winnings to pay off their house and buy a caravan for future holidays.

Record Wins for Keno Players in 2024

The Casino couple’s win adds to a long list of Keno success stories across the eastern states. In FY24, Keno players celebrated more than 78.5 million wins worth over $1.16 billion.

During this period, 18 new millionaires and multi-millionaires were crowned, collectively taking home over $46.7 million. Among them was a Shelly Beach dad who walked away with $5.92 million.

In NSW and the ACT, players racked up more than 40.3 million wins, totaling over $588.5 million.

Play Smart and Check Your Tickets

This heartwarming story is a reminder for Keno players to always check their tickets. You never know when a spontaneous decision could turn into a life-changing moment—just ask this Casino couple, whose quick game turned into a $95,000 stroke of luck.

The winning ticket was purchased at Casino RSM Club, 162 Canterbury Road, Casino.

For more information on Keno results and prizes, visit your local Keno outlet or check online

Nimbin and Casino Move Towards Better Drinking Water

By Jeff Gibbs

Residents of the Northern Rivers are set to benefit from safer and more reliable drinking water, with $357,000 in funding secured for planning and design work to significantly improve water quality in Nimbin and Casino.

The Minns Labor Government is contributing $123,500 towards these projects, with additional funding of $165,000 from Lismore City Council and $68,500 from Richmond Valley Council. The funding will support the development of infrastructure solutions to ensure higher water treatment standards for these communities.

Nimbin

In Nimbin, concept designs are underway for a new filtration and treatment system to provide better-quality water to the town’s 2,422 residents.

Following the installation of a temporary plant during the 2022 Northern Rivers floods, a modern, permanent solution is needed to treat raw water from Mulgum Creek that flows into the D.E. Williams storage dam. The new plant aims to eliminate boil water alerts for households, delivering consistent, high-quality drinking water.

Casino

Meanwhile, in Casino, investigations are exploring options to upgrade the town’s 40-year-old water treatment plant, which has struggled to handle river water containing algae and organic matter during droughts, heavy rains, or bushfires.

The upgrades aim to improve water quality for the town’s 11,000 residents, while also reducing operational and maintenance challenges for Richmond Valley Council.

State and Local Leadership

The projects are part of the NSW Safe and Secure Water Program, which is supporting up to $1 billion worth of regional projects across the state, with more than 260 initiatives in various stages of delivery. Both the Nimbin concept design and the Casino options study are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

State Member for Lismore, Janelle Saffin:

“Water security is front of mind for the Northern Rivers region, so it’s great to see the NSW Government looking to the future to ensure places like Nimbin and Casino get the water services they deserve.

“These funds will get the ball rolling on boosting drinking water quality in both towns, which is excellent news for locals as well as the many visitors who flock to this region every year.

“Getting the planning and design processes right is extremely important because these are the essential stepping stones to putting the right infrastructure in place to serve local communities for decades to come.”

Lismore City Council Mayor, Cr Steve Krieg:

“Joining forces with the NSW Government to complete the concept design for a new filtration system for Nimbin, equipped with 21st-century technology, will treat water to a higher standard and help end boil water alerts for those on the town water network.

“We know raw water supply in Nimbin is often affected by weather conditions and organic matter in Mulgum Creek, which is why we are keen to move this project to the tender-ready stage to improve outcomes for the community.”

Richmond Valley Council Mayor, Cr Robert Mustow:

“Kickstarting investigations into the best options for upgrading the water treatment plant to help future-proof water services for Casino is a big win for locals, businesses, and visitors.

“We know extreme weather events can significantly impact water quality in the Richmond River, so ensuring we have advanced infrastructure in place to produce high-quality drinking water is a necessity.”

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“It’s All for My Family”: Casino Dad Wins $1 Million in Weekday Windfall

A hardworking father from Casino, New South Wales, has described his $1 million Windfall lottery win as “the best Christmas present ever.” The life-changing prize came from Friday night’s Weekday Windfall draw, just days before Christmas.

The fortunate winner held one of two division one winning entries in Weekday Windfall draw 4484 on Friday, December 20. Each winning ticket claimed a $1 million prize. His 15-game QuickPick entry was purchased at Plaza News, located at Shop 1, 169 Canterbury Street, Casino.

Tears of Joy and Gratitude

The overwhelmed winner couldn’t hold back his emotions when contacted by an official from The Lott to confirm the news.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” he exclaimed through tears. “This is the biggest blessing. I’m crying.

“I work so hard for my children and their future, and I pray every day for blessings like this for our family.

“This is the best Christmas present ever, ever, ever in my entire life!

“I work every day, and I’ll even be working over Christmas. It’s all for my family. This win is going to set us up—I’ll finally be able to buy a house. Thank you so much!”

A Thrilled Community

Plaza News owner Bill Rose shared his excitement about selling the winning ticket. “It’s so exciting! I’ve been telling customers all year that I was going to sell a winning ticket, and I did it!” he said.

“Our lovely customers will be over the moon. We’ll be spreading the good news all week. The last time we sold a division one winning entry was back in October 2018. Congratulations to the winner on this life-changing moment. We are so happy for you.”

Winning Numbers

The winning numbers for Weekday Windfall draw 4484 were 20, 45, 7, 15, 14, and 31, with supplementary numbers 42 and 4. Nationwide, there were two division one winning entries—one in New South Wales and one in Western Australia.

A Record Year for The Lott

The Lott’s division one tally has reached 225 wins so far in FY25, with 60 winners in New South Wales alone. Last financial year, the Weekday Windfall game created 99 millionaires across Australia and awarded a total of $108 million in prizes.

More Chances to Win

Opportunities for life-changing wins continue with upcoming lottery draws:

• Tuesday’s Oz Lotto offers $8 million.
• Thursday’s Powerball has $12 million up for grabs.
• Set for Life offers $20,000 a month for 20 years in tonight’s draw.

Tickets can be purchased at licenced lottery outlets, online at thelott.com, or via The Lott mobile app.

Giving Back

In FY24, The Lott contributed over $1.8 billion in state lottery taxes and donations to support community initiatives, including hospitals, health research, disaster relief, and education. Over 132.8 million winners collectively took home $4.4 billion in prize money last year, underscoring The Lott’s role in creating everyday winners.

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$15 million dollar road opens after landslide

By Samantha Elley

It’s been over three years in the waiting for residents around Naughtons Gap, since the landslide in March 2021, caused by heavy rainfalls that closed Naughtons Gap Road.

Thanks to funding of up to $15.8 million from the State government, however, long detours to Casino or Lismore are now a thing of the past.

Gracie Rambaldini-Gooding was born and bred in the area and still lives in the house she was brought up in.

“I’ve lived here lots and lots and lots of years,” she laughed.

“I went to school down here; we used to walk down this road when it was gravel.”

Taking the barriers off the road

Gracie knows what it is like to be inconvenienced with the road closed.

“I had to go through Manifold Road or Springrove Road which put an extra 25 to 30 minutes on the road and now it’s developed a lot more potholes, so you can only crawl along,” she said.

“Whereas, with our road open here it takes 10-15 minutes to get into town into Casino and 20-25 minutes to Lismore.

“It will now be back to normal.”

Official heads, those who worked on the road and neighbours, gathered last Friday to formally open the road and celebrate the long figurative journey that has been travelled to get it back to normal.

Paul and Allie Connolly’s vintage cars

“This road is a vital link for our community,” said Richmond Valley mayor Robert Mustow.

“We’ve had a lot of flak over the last 3-4 years to  ‘get the bloody thing open’.

“It wasn’t that easy but now we have a $15 million job done on a flat section of road.

“Anywhere else in the local government area would cost about $800,000 for a kilometre, this was 300 metres at $15 million which shows the enormity of the job.”

To understand the scale of the task, Richmond Valley Council General Manager, Vaughan MacDonald said this short stretch of road contained 2,500 cubic metres of concrete under it, to make sure it goes nowhere.

Cake to celebrate the opening

“We’ve got it documented on video,” he said.

“It really does show how, hopefully, in 50 years time it won’t have moved an inch.”

Casino car enthusiasts Paul and Allie Connolly brought two of their vintage cars to be the first to drive over the new stretch of road, adding to the festivity of the day.

“Richmond Valley Council deserves commendation for recognising the value of the new disaster recovery program and acting quickly on it, said NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Disaster Recovery and Lismore MP, Janelle Saffin.

“They have achieved value for money and, most importantly, have improved access for the roughly 1000 motorists who were using this road each day before the March 2021 landslip.”

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