A Dublin dad who bought his first ever Lotto ticket managed to win €500k in the EuroMillions - and almost binned the ticket in the process!
He was thanking his lucky stars today in the National Lottery Winner’s Room as he claimed his cheque for €500,000 which was a top prize won on the EuroMillions Plus draw on Tuesday 8 October.
His winning Quick Pick ticket was bought at the Centra store on Grange Road in Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.
And he revealed that while he has no plans set in stone for the winnings just yet, he said that he was going to surprise his daughter and show her the cheque at the dinner table tonight.
Speaking at Lotto HQ as he picked up his winnings, he said: “I was with my daughter last Tuesday in a queue in the shop and she was buying a ticket and she suggested I get one as the EuroMillions jackpot was €190 million.
"I had never bought a lottery ticket in my life so I just got what she got. I put it in my wallet and it was there until this morning. I never thought of checking it until I was in another shop and was speaking to the guy behind the counter when I pulled out the ticket.
"He told me the big prize was won over in the UK so I was about to throw it in the bin. I just scanned it in the machine and it told me to contact the National Lottery.
"I just ran out of the shop and rang the wife. She left work and we checked the numbers and surely enough the numbers all matched!”
He continued: “I cannot believe my luck – it’s the very definition of beginners luck. Imagine if I had just threw the ticket away? To be honest, I don’t think the news has sunken in just yet.
"We only discovered our win a couple of hours ago and now I’m sitting here with a €500,000 cheque in my hands. It’s all a bit mad, isn’t it?”
