Group Delight
June Fraser, from Cleland Hospital in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, was in charge of checking the tickets after each draw. The group of 15 nurses had not previously enjoyed too much success in their three years of playing together, and June was not surprised to find out that the first entry she checked for the draw on Friday 20th April was not a winner.
She explained: “I actually thought that was the ticket for Friday night's draw and very nearly didn't scan the second one as I thought it was for a future draw. When I did and it told me that we'd won £1 million I thought the app must be broken. I couldn't believe it!”
June phoned her ward straight away to tell two of her fellow syndicate members the news, but was ‘too hyper’ to contact everyone at that point and went into work, with the lucky ticket pinned to the inside of her nurse’s uniform. She then hid the ticket under her cutlery drawer at home until she was ready to come forward.
Each member of the syndicate will now receive £66,666 after they were presented with their cheque at a media ceremony this week. They are looking forward to spending the money in a variety of ways, including trips to Canada, Sri Lanka, cruises, new cars, early retirement and even a motorbike. The first purchase, though, will be a batch of cakes and goodies to treat the staff, patients and families at Cleland Hospital.
Advantages of a Syndicate
The members of the syndicate revealed that they chipped in just 50p each, allowing them to buy three tickets between all 15 of them. They were therefore spending less money by playing together rather than going it alone, but also increasing their chances of winning because they had three tickets rather than just one.
June still had to check her ticket - which she nearly forgot - and then keep it safe. Another option would have been to join an online syndicate, where all of the hard organisational work is done on behalf of the players. There is no danger of the numbers getting lost, stolen or damaged as they are safely stored online, and you are still boosting your odds whilst saving money.
The latest success follows another big syndicate win for hospital workers last November, when a group of six known as the Catering Girls scooped a EuroMillions jackpot of £25.4 million.
The next EuroMillions jackpot will be worth £31 million (€36 million) following a rollover on Tuesday night, giving players across all nine participating countries another opportunity to snap up an eight-figure prize. You need to be in it to win it, though, and you can take part by visiting any authorised retailer or getting involved online. Good luck!