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| What's it like to be a big winner? How would it change your life? Find out from the winners themselves as we reveal their stories and discover what they plan to do with their winnings. |
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| Jackie and John Livesley £2,630,225 |
A couple from the Stoke area, who are lifelong Stoke City FC fans, are cheering from the terraces after netting a £2,630,225 Lotto jackpot win in the draw on Saturday 15th November.
Jackie Livesley and her husband John can now afford to treat themselves and family to a Christmas to remember. Before that though, Jackie has her sights set on a trip to the Maldives, whereas John is looking through the Range Rover Sport brochure.
Things may have turned out differently if Jackie had managed to persuade John not to do their usual weekly shop because of the cold weather outside. After 'winning' her over and venturing out in the rain, they decided to take a trip to Leek and bought their Lotto tickets from Morrisons on the Newcastle Road at the same time - which turned out to be one of the best decisions they have ever made.
They didn't discover that they were winners until the following day, after a morning of household chores. Jackie said: "I'd been cleaning the kitchen floor and needed a break. I put the kettle on for a coffee and checked Teletext. I looked, looked and looked again before shouting out for John.
"John was having a lie-in as he was working nights. He ran into the living room, realising something was up, and then calmly confirmed we'd matched all six numbers." |
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| Tina and Colin Halford £1,134,695 |
The going is good, in fact very good, for a horse-racing mad family from Tamworth in Staffordshire after they matched all six numbers in the Lotto draw on Saturday 18th October to win a £1,134,695 share of the Lotto jackpot.
However, Tina Halford and her husband, Colin, didn't know that they had been millionaires for a week already when they went to their newsagents to check their Lotto tickets, as the couple usually check their tickets only once a fortnight. Then once she checked it, she said they couldn't
pay it out and we had to ring The National Lottery. We looked at each other in disbelief and
after checking the numbers, one by one, I found out we had potentially won over a
million pounds!"
Colin said: "We were going for a drink at the local pub so we decided to stop off at the newsagents on the way. I went in while Tina waited in the car and gave our tickets to the lady behind the counter. She put one in the machine and told me we had won £10 and
she then said she had to double check the other line - we even joked about it being the winning ticket!"
Tina and Colin are both now retired. Tina was a cleaner but is now studying accountancy at her local college. Colin used to work as a shift engineer at the Dawmill Coalmine near Coventry. They have two children Leanne and Marc, who is an aspiring amateur jockey, working towards turning professional.
The couple plan to use the win to treat their family and will take the first holiday they will have had in over two years - a luxury Mediterranean cruise.
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| Ianthe Fullagar £7,055,142 |
A student from Ravenglass, Cumbria, has scooped an amazing £7,055,142.10 on EuroMillions, after matching five numbers and one Lucky Star in the draw held on Friday 26th September.
Ianthe Fullagar had only played EuroMillions once before but decided that as the jackpot amount was £100 million, she would chance her luck. On Friday night, she watched the draw show in disbelief as her Lucky Dip ticket numbers were chosen one by one.
She said: "At first I thought I had matched three numbers, so I couldn't believe it when I realised I had the five main numbers plus one Lucky Star. I checked the back of the ticket and saw that the average win for those numbers was £280,000 and couldn't stop screaming!
"We were both screaming so loudly that my dog, Brock, didn't know what was happening and bit me on the bottom! After waking up everyone in the house and checking the numbers over and over again, we drank some Prosecco to celebrate and I called my boyfriend Sam. I didn't know what to do with my ticket, so after hiding it in my bra and jewellery box, I settled for my gym bag until it was confirmed I was a winner!"
Currently on a gap year before she starts her Law degree at University next year, Ianthe is now busy making plans for her future. After treating herself to a break in Egypt, she is planning on sharing the money with family and friends and buying a new car - a black Ford KA. Eventually, Ianthe wants to start her own law practice as it is something she has always dreamt of doing. |
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A syndicate of nine carers from Essex is celebrating after banking an incredible £7,055,142.10 share of the massive £100 million EuroMillions mega-jackpot on Friday 26th September. The nine lucky ladies, who all work in the same residential care home in Upminster, have committed to keep up their good work - despite each winning over £778,000.
Barbara said: "All the girls have continued to do their shifts since we won. We can't let our residents down, it's not something you can do in this trade and we have reassured them all that despite the win we are here to stay."
The group - who have dubbed themselves the A1 Carers, usually play Lotto together, but entered EuroMillions for the first time because of the special £100 million jackpot which had to be won that night.
After collecting their giant cheque on Monday morning, the lucky ladies returned to a huge surprise party at the care home laid on by the owner. The members of the nine-strong syndicate all work together looking after 15 ladies, three of whom are over 100 years old.
Barbara added: "It was fantastic, everybody from the residents to strangers we met at the service station on the way back from getting the cheque, have been so pleased for us and excited about hearing our plans for the win. They all want to shake our hand to try and get a little bit of luck."
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| Gary and Ann Henry £4,493,783 |
The owners of a snack bar in a Bishop Auckland industrial estate will be serving their last full English breakfast after cooking-up a life-changing £4,493,783 jackpot win in the Lotto draw on Saturday 20th September.
Gary and Ann Henry, who live in the town, have been running the snack bar in Roman Way Industrial Estate for the last eleven years but now plan to hang-up their aprons for the final time. They hope to give the cafe to two of their sons so they can keep the family business going. Gary and Ann have been turning up to work at 5.30am every week day for more than ten years but are now looking forward to someone else making the tea and bacon butties. Gary says:
"We just can't believe it has happened to us! It's really hard to take in. Everyone has been so supportive and the customers have been really pleased for us. Our staff have been brilliant too - they are working hard to cover our shifts at the moment and I am sure we will have to put in a few more hours before we can finally put our feet up."
Ann is particularly shocked by the news as the lottery win was predicted by a customer just two weeks before. Ann says "It was a really wet day when a customer came in completely soaked through - she was literally dripping on the floor. I felt sorry for her so I gave her a cup of tea and an egg sandwich on the house to warm her up. We got chatting and she told me she was a gypsy and could predict the future. She told me a great deal about my family which was all true...then she said I would win the lottery. She said the win would be soon, it would begin with a '4' but couldn't tell me how many zero's there would be. She said she would be back at Christmas to see what has happened but amazingly everything she said has already come true."
Apart from stopping work, Gary and Ann have always dreamt of building their own home and now hope to design their very own luxury bungalow. They have also been saving to go on their first cruise but are upgrading their plans to a luxury one and taking some friends too. Both Gary and Ann come from large families and have six grown-up children between them.
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