Irish Lotto Winner Claims €8.5 Million Jackpot
Last Updated: Tuesday 27th September 2022, 08:56 am
An Irish Lotto player from Limerick has revealed that they are still in shock after winning €8.5 million.
The lucky ticket holder matched the numbers 7, 24, 27, 33, 34 and 40 in the draw on Wednesday 27th January, becoming the first jackpot winner of the year.
As they played online, they automatically received an email to let them know they had won. However, the value of the payout left them in a state of disbelief.
“When I checked the email, I thought to myself that this can’t be right,” said the winner after coming forward to pick up the prize.
“I was expecting it to be a €3 or a €6 win - not €8.5 million! I had to go out of the email and then back into it to make sure it was real before I checked the results over and over again. I still can’t believe it.”
The winner’s celebrations have had to be low-key due to coronavirus restrictions, but they are excited about the future and fully intend to share the money with their family.
“Once I found out that I had won the jackpot, I picked up the phone to let my family know but I didn’t know what to say,” said the player.
“It was a surreal moment so I just blurted out, ‘Guess what, I won the Lotto!’ I still don’t think they believe me.
“With social distancing, we haven’t been able to celebrate this incredible life-changing win. While it is such a mind-blowing sum of money, I won’t be getting carried away by going on any spending sprees just yet.
"I’m going to keep my head down for the next couple of months and pay off some bills and of course look after family. When the dust settles on Covid and we all have our vaccines, we will definitely be going on a big holiday.”
EuroMillions Jackpot Rising
If you fancy becoming the next big winner, you can take part in Irish Lotto draws every Wednesday and Saturday night. You can also try your luck at EuroMillions, which currently offers a jackpot worth €163 million.
The Megadraw on Friday 5th February put up a top prize of €130 million, but no tickets matched all the numbers so it rolled over to the next draw and is continuing to rise. It is already close to equalling the value of the biggest-ever Irish win, which is €175 million.
