SYDNEY, Australia – An Australian retiree won a $1.8 million lottery prize, then lost it, and then won it again Wednesday through a court ruling.

Werner Reinhold bought the lottery ticket at a newsstand in Australia’s largest city of Sydney on Sept. 19, 1995. His original ticket did not print correctly, so he asked for a new one, which turned out to be the winner.

But when Reinhold, now 73, went back to claim the $1.8 million jackpot, he discovered that the replacement ticket had been canceled, not the misprinted original, and was unable to claim the prize.

He sued NSW Lotteries, which oversees lottery tickets in New South Wales state, and the newsstand which sold him the ticket.

Supreme Court Judge Reginald Barrett awarded Reinhold $1.8 million in damages, citing negligence and breach of contract by the newsstand and the state lottery company. Barrett had not yet ruled on what portion of the award each party should pay.

Crocodile discovered living on Australian golf course

BRISBANE, Australia – A golf course in tropical Australia has a new water hazard: a crocodile that took up residence in a lake at the 14th hole.

Club owner Don Matheson in the Queensland state city of Townsville said the small, freshwater crocodile posed no “significant threat” to people, but that the club doesn’t allow them on the course.

“It’s quite novel that we have got a croc who has made his home here. If we allowed it, he would stay here,” Matheson added.

The meter-long (3-foot, 4-inch) crocodile moved into the lake at the Willows Golf Club during flooding that followed heavy rains in recent weeks, Matheson said, adding that he’ll ask wildlife authorities to place the animal back in the wild.

Wildlife authorities last week warned residents in the Queensland tropics to be alert for crocodiles and snakes carried onto properties by floodwater.