Lifetime Irish Lotto Fan “Cool as a Cucumber” After €500,000 Win
One Irish Lotto ticket holder will certainly be enjoying a merry Christmas after winning a Lotto Plus 1 jackpot of €500,000. The lucky lady, who has opted to remain anonymous, matched the numbers 7, 17, 32, 38, 43 and 45 to claim the six-figure prize in the draw on Saturday 5th November and was said to be as “cool as a cucumber” following her win.
The lucky Irish Lotto fan, who purchased her entry from O’Reilly Stores in Baltinglass, Co Wicklow on the day of the draw, was joined by a group of close friends as she made her way to the National Lottery headquarters to collect her prize last week. Unlike many other winners, the woman seemed unflustered by her triumph, with her friends joking that she would never get round to picking up her windfall: "She casually told us that she had won the Lotto on the Wednesday after the draw and she asked us to come to Dublin with her to help her collect her prize,” one friend told National Lottery officials. “That was almost three weeks ago!”
The lucky lady, who describes herself as a lifelong Lotto player, had been going about life as usual with the ticket for half a million euros stuffed in her handbag, safe in the knowledge that she would soon be collecting her sizeable sum. Even before receiving her money, she assured those closest to her that, despite being €500,000 richer, she would not change. "When I won, I just knew that I wanted all of my friends here with me. We are all very close and I hope this will bring us all happiness,” smiled the woman.
Even with the festive period just around the corner, the woman has refused to splash the cash immediately: "I have no plans for my winnings yet but I will take some time and put it to good use." Instead, she has already started planning her next visit to the capital to pick up an even larger jackpot prize: "I love playing lottery games, particularly the scratchcards. We actually stopped on the way to Dublin to buy tickets, so if there’s a winner in Dublin, it might be us," she joshed.
Tonight’s jackpot is estimated to be worth a sensational €10.5 million, a sum that would certainly be worth shouting about. To be in with a chance of winning, Irish Lotto tickets are available to buy online or from any authorised retailer throughout the Republic. Best of luck!
30th November 2016
