They won €500 – plus a surprise bonus of a million
Lotto sign (stock)(Image: Getty Images)
A group of friends in Cork could not believe their luck after scoring €1 million on the National Lottery – having entered a draw with a prize of just €500.
They bought the ticket online on March 14, and won the €500 prize, before also getting a life-changing €1 million top-up as part of a random draw. The Lotto Plus Raffle typically sees between 60 and 120 players win €500 in every draw – but the March draw saw the Cork syndicate bring home a much higher windfall due to the special bonus.
Having now collected the full sum from Lotto HQ, a member of the lucky syndicate said: “Would you believe we thought we had just won €500? I only phoned the National Lottery team to confirm that amount. When they told me the true value of the prize, I was speechless – pure shock! All I could say was ‘You’re having a laugh?’
“We were sure it was a joke, I had other syndicate members calling to confirm the win. It’s taken days for the news to settle in, but we’re over the moon!”
They’re not the first group of pals to win big in Cork recently. Last summer, a Leeside family made a colossal €250m EuroMillions jackpot – but pledged to “stay grounded” despite the unbelievable win.
Today, another Cork player woke up to a pleasant email from Lotto HQ, telling them that they’ve won €37,292. That winning ticket was purchased online on Sunday and the winning numbers were: 08, 16, 26, 32, 40, 45 and the Bonus was 39.
Elsewhere, a syndicate in Westmeath has also claimed their Lotto Plus One top prize worth €1,000,000 from the Wednesday, March 25 draw. The syndicate revealed they went to great lengths to keep the ticket safe in the days after the win. “After much debate, we eventually agreed that the safest place for the ticket was inside a coffee jar in the kitchen – a hiding spot no one would find.
“And any time I needed to pop out of the house, I brought the ticket with me, I didn’t want to be without it. You could say this ticket has been on tour all over the county with me since the big win!”