Casino
Scratchcards
PlaySince the lottery’s inception in 2004, there have been hundreds of giant jackpots claimed by worthy winners with wonderful stories to tell. Here are just a few of our favourites:
In 2013, a recruitment firm found itself mysteriously deserted when ten members failed to show up to work. However, the mystery was soon solved and it was revealed that the office’s ten person syndicate had scooped the £28 million EuroMillions jackpot. The firm, based in Kikby, Merseyside, was left desperately recruiting recruiters following a mass exodus of the ten lucky jackpot winners!
It seems there’s something magic about Merseyside because four years previously a syndicate of seven call centre staff also landed a jackpot – in that case, £45.5 million. The BT employees had a superb start to the day when they arrived at work and found out about their giant win. Fellow employees said the winners ‘went mad - screaming and shouting’ before being whisked away by Camelot. Can you think of a better way to start the day?
Adrian and Gillian Bayford always knew they had luck on their side after falling in love in the most unlikely of ways after Adrian accidentally dialled an incorrect number and was put through to Gillian. The pair struck up conversation and eventually Gillian, who at the time was living more than 420 miles away, moved to Suffolk so they could be together. However, you’d be wrong to think that’s where their luck ran out. In 2012, the couple scooped a colossal EuroMillions jackpot of £148 million – catapulting them into 516th place on Britain’s Rich List.
Do you think it feels any different to be a millionaire? Jane O’Brien certainly didn’t. She walked around with a £1,000,000 winning ticket in her bag, for three months! The traffic controller had been working double shifts in attempt to pay for a dream trip to New York while - all the time she was a millionaire!
Amongst the worthiest of winners is Margaret Loughrey who was desperately in need of a little luck. Resident in Strabane, dubbed ‘most economically disadvantaged town in Northern Ireland’, Margaret was on her way to apply for a job when she stopped on the spur of the moment and bought a lucky dip. She went from living on a stringent budget of £58 a week to scooping a £27 million jackpot.
Since the very first EuroMillions draw, when more than 950,000 prizes were awarded, the lottery has doled out over 60 million prizes. Despite odds of winning the jackpot at just 1 in 116,531,800, hundreds of lucky players have scooped the top prize and millions of people have benefited from lower tier wins. Along the way, hundreds of national and local charities and good causes have also enjoyed windfalls thanks to EuroMillions.
The next EuroMillions draw takes place tomorrow so if you fancy your chances at being the next big winner, get your ticket for the Valentine’s Day draw here.