We've all dreamt about what we'd do if we won the jackpot on the National Lottery.
Whether it's quitting your job, paying off the mortgage or buying a mansion or a fancy sports car, we've all got our own ideas about what we would spend the money on.
For some lucky Welsh winners, however, those dreams have become a reality, as they have bagged millions of pounds after their numbers came up.
But while all of their lives undoubtedly changed forever following their big wins, the paths these sudden millionaires have found themselves on since have been very different, with money not necessarily meaning happiness for everyone.
From new cars and dream holidays to relationship breakdowns and court cases, these are the stories of Wales' biggest lottery winners.
The Davies family who won £61m in 2016
Five years ago, the Davies family from Monmouth enjoyed quite the run of luck.
In July 2016, a five-strong syndicate made up of sales executive Stephanie Davies, her boyfriend Steve Powell, her student sister Courtney, her mum Sonia, an admin assistant, and Sonia's partner Keith Reynolds, a regional director, won £61 million - working out at just over £12 million each.
The family hit the Euromillions jackpot while Sonia was with Keith in the USA, not only to see his daughter graduate, but for her to have vital surgery after she was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour on her parathyroid gland.
After Sonia's surgery went well, Keith was scanning his emails when he read about the EuroMillions rollover draw. Convinced they were on a winning streak, they called Sonia's daughter Courtney from the US to ask her to go and buy a ticket.
“I thought mum was mad calling me from holiday, but they were so insistent I knew we had to do it," said Stephanie, who realised they had won after checking the numbers on her iPad.
"I kept saying ‘we’ve won and I’m not joking’. I could see Steve was trying to read me to see whether I was telling the truth but I was so emotional, he decided to check.
"And he checked again. We giggled. We memorised the numbers and checked again. We checked the draw date again. We locked all our windows and doors and spoke in hushed voices just in case someone could hear that we had won.".
The day after their big win, the whole family jetted off to a mystery destination in the sun, but Courtney returned early after promising her friends that she'd head back for BoomTown Fair music festival - there's nothing like camping in a muddy field to keep you grounded after becoming a teenage millionaire!
Les Scadding who won £45.5m in 2009
Mechanic and lorry driver Les Scadding became the UK's biggest ever lottery winner after scooping an incredible £45.5 million in the Euromillions draw with his wife Samantha.
Les, from Caerleon, banked half of the £91m jackpot with a lottery syndicate in Liverpool, having bought the winning ticket Tesco store in Newport whilst his bank account was £68 overdrawn.
The 58-year-old, who had beaten testicular cancer five years prior to his win, explained that it had become a joke in the family that he would one day become a millionaire.
“For the last 12 years I’ve always said I was going to win the lottery. My daughter lives in Abu Dhabi and she would ring me and say ‘Have you won the lottery yet, Dad?’ and I’d say ‘Not yet’,” he said.
After the win, he said: "I called my daughter and she said: ‘Have you won the lottery yet?’ and I said: ‘Yes – I told you I would!'"
The couple intended to give donations to heart and cancer charities after Samantha's father, Roger, passed away from cancer two years before they won the jackpot, while Les also gave an undisclosed seven-figure sum to each of his three children from his first marriage.
"We are in a position where we can do a hell of a lot for ourselves and also bring joy to family and close friends and charities," Les added. "So I think it will change us for the better. You can’t buy good health but we can have a very good life."
Les then became a major shareholder of Newport County and acted as the club's owner in 2012, before resigning three years later, saying he wished to spend more time at his holiday home in Barbados.
However, he and Samantha, who had been together since 2002 and married since 2006, split up in 2013.
'The Catering Girls' who won £25.5m in 2017
Just last year, six members of a syndicate from Neath Port Talbot shared £4 million each after a £25 million EuroMillions win.
The catering staff at Neath Port Talbot Hospital celebrated by handing in their notices, with the exception of one winner who had retired the year before.
'The Catering Girls', made up of Julie Saunders, Doreen Thompson, Louise Ward, Jean Cairns, Sian Jones and Julie Amphlett, didn't check the winning ticket until the following day.
Their wishlist included items such as a tumble dryer, new mattresses and even a trip to Las Vegas, whilst the youngest member, Louise, said she was looking forward to her upcoming wedding.
She said: “I had 80 people on my list and was trying to cut down on the numbers as it was too many. I can now have as many guests as I want!”
Speaking in 2019, Sian said: “The win has completely changed all of our lives. It has given us the freedom to spend so much more time with our families and have experiences that we never could have afforded before.
“We have just celebrated the second anniversary of our win, and all got together to toast the occasion. We still really enjoy getting together a few times a year to share what we’ve all be up to.”
The same year, Doreen saved the cenotaph in her village of Ystalyfera by donating the land to the council.
She said: "I've lived in the area for 31 years and regularly walk past the war memorial. My granddaughter even goes to the nursery to the side of the cenotaph – a reminder they gave their lives for future generations.
"As an investment after our win, we bought a field to build houses on, including a bungalow for our son. But when council members told us they feared the cenotaph would have to be disassembled, we donated them the land it stood on to save the memorial.
"Almost every family is linked to the cenotaph here and this was the best thing we could do for our village."
Sandra Fosbrooke and Ken Henry who won £12.8m in 2005
The couple from Llanelli banked just under £13m when they hit the jackpot back in 2005.
ASDA checkout worker, Sandra, and her partner Ken, a meat packer, realised they had won the huge sum of money after checking their numbers in a newspaper.
A neighbour said: "He drove down to Asda where Sandra is on the check-outs and told her, 'I'm going to tell you something that will change your life'."
The couple planned to use their new fortune to buy a new house, two cars and a villa abroad in Gran Canaria after taking a long break away - but they both returned to work a few years later, with Ken resuming a part-time job as a bingo caller, and Sandra taking over The Stag pub in Five Roads in 2010.
However, in 2012, Sandra's £415,000 house was trashed after 200 people gatecrashed her daughter's 17th birthday party after reading about it on Facebook.
The police were called after the party descended into violence, with six arrests made amid reports of fighting and a television being thrown out of a window.
John Ackerman and John Stinchcome who won £11.5m in 2007
The lifelong friends from Crumlin scooped one of the biggest Welsh wins ever in July 2007 after taking home £11.5 million.
The pair live in the same community, go to the same local shops and drink in the same local club - and had each spent £1.50 playing three lines of numbers every week since the National Lottery began in 1994.
It would have taken the ex-miners more than 750 years underground to earn what they got with their lucky numbers.
They only realised they were multi-millionaires when one of them went along to their local Woolworths to collect the winnings.
Mr Ackerman said staff at the store told him the prize was "too big for them to distribute" after running his ticket through the machine. He was sent along to the Post Office where they told him he had won a "substantial amount" of money and to get in touch with Camelot, the Lottery operator.
"I really just didn't believe it," he said. "I rang John straight away and he didn't believe me either."
The pair would certainly have missed out on their huge winnings had Mrs Ackerman not "nagged" her husband to buy a ticket because it was a double rollover.
Emma Brown who won £5.5m in 2017
Emma Brown scooped a £5.5m fortune in 2017 - but made headlines again this year after becoming the victim of a sickening attack.
In January 2021, she was attacked by her partner Stephen Gibbs outside their luxury Barry home, after he accused her of cheating on him and she told him that their relationship was over.
During the ferocious attack, Gibbs, 45, stabbed her in the face seven times and broke her arm and nose. Believing he had murdered her, he then left her lying in a pool of blood before driving away and attempting to kill himself with tablets.
Ms Brown said that she thought was going to die during the attack, while she has also been left with a number of severe facial scars. In a victim personal statement, she said her confidence had been destroyed in the attack, adding "I know I won't ever fully recover emotionally or physically, I will have to carry this with me for the rest of my life."
A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court in December heard Gibbs was unable to deal with the fact Ms Brown had become financially independent and their 11-year relationship had become strained due to his jealousy.
Gibbs had previously been sentenced to an extended sentence of 10 years after he was convicted of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent after stabbing a child in 2005.
For his attack on Ms Brown, Gibbs was handed an extended sentence of 18 years. He will serve two-thirds of a 13-year custodial term before he is considered for parole and will serve another five years on licence.
'The Valley Boys' who won £4.1m in 2011
These four rugby fans celebrated with cider after bagging themselves just over £1 million each.
The 'Valley Boys' syndicate claimed their £4,091,609 prize at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium back in 2011.
Lorry drivers Terry Roberts, Mike Williams and Lance Gifford were joined by accounts manager Gerwyn Jones, who had all grown up together in the Rhondda village of Ferndale.
All four said they planned to stay in Ferndale but were making plans about how to spend their money on paying off their mortgages, buying new cars and taking holidays.
The rugby-mad quartet also wanted to buy a box at the Principality Stadium so they could take their friends and family to see international matches.
Terry, who had managed the syndicate since 2003, said: “When I saw that we had matched six numbers I couldn’t believe it. I dragged my wife Susan out of bed so she could check the numbers.
"We then went round to Mike’s house and banged on the door to tell him the news and then did the same to Lance. Once everyone knew we went and bought some Strongbow and had a big party."
Diane Bate who won £3.8m in 2020
70-year-old Diane was so shocked to have won a staggering £3.8m that she got her husband of 52 years, Michael, to check her numbers six times, before she was physically sick.
The grandmother from Rhyl said she couldn’t believe her eyes when so many zeros flashed up on her National Lottery app., while she spent the rest of the day in a complete daze, as her massive win slowly started to sink in.
“I was in complete disbelief when I saw the amount I’d won – the most I’d ever won was £100, so to see that many zeros flash up was unbelievable," said the former social services worker.
"It was a Sunday morning and I was the only one in the house who was awake so I went to wake up my husband. I kept asking him to check the app over and over again until the news finally sunk in. I didn’t think it was real until about the sixth time of checking, at which point I was physically sick!"
Despite being a newly-made millionaire, family-orientated Diane said she had no plans to leave North Wales, adding "We want to buy a bigger house locally as we love the area but, we don’t want a mansion or anything flashy.
"But we will definitely be treating ourselves to first class flights on our travels. The USA is our favourite destination, we have been about 15 times and would love to go back as soon as it’s safe to do so. Canada is also on the bucket list and we have a daughter who lives in Australia who we would love to visit again.
“There is nothing in particular I want, I have everything I need really, but buying a new handbag always makes me feel nice.”
Matt Evans who won £2.6m in 2015
Former postman Matt left a scrunched up lottery ticket in his trouser pocket for three days before he realised it was worth more than £2.6m.
The Cardiff City season ticket holder became an instant millionaire when he eventually popped into his local newsagent to check his numbers.
While his initial plan was to upgrade his 16-year-old car and travel the world, the football-mad winner also transformed his back garden into a mini pitch, complete with a dugout on the touchline, so his mates could come for a kickabout.
His partner Hollie gave birth to their first son Sonny in June 2020, while he also helped generate some Christmas cheer in lockdown by delivering festive hampers to Cardiff hospice staff.
Speaking last year, Matt, from Barry, said: "It has been a very strange year. We have virtually been in lockdown since March. We were keeping Hollie safe because she was heavily pregnant and then when Sonny was born, we stayed close to home to keep him as safe as possible.
"It has been really good being able to get out and help the hospice. We put together nine hampers altogether.
"Sonny is such a good baby and loves his food. We are really looking forward to celebrating his first Christmas."
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