Fate turns into fortune for Croydon couple

Despite not playing regularly Gary choose to play his lucky numbers online in that evenings draw. However he only clicked to play a mere 9 minutes before the draw closed.

The twists of fate led to a £129,610.10 EuroMillions win and means the couple can treat themselves and their family.

Gary reveals, “It might sound odd but there were a series of events that make me think it was as if fate decreed I was going to win. It started in the morning when I was speaking to my brother-in-law about my mum’s lottery ticket and joked that it didn’t matter, I was going to win that night, which is odd in itself as I don’t play that often!"

“That evening, I played online nine minutes before the draw closed and then went for a walk with Sue and our dog, Gem. While out we saw two magpies and again I made my ‘going to win the lottery’ claim. As if that wasn’t enough, just as we headed for home, there was the weirdest sunset of blue, yellow and pink streaks, almost like a rainbow, I’ve never seen anything like it before. Sue joked that it was either our guardian angel or the stairway to heaven. I’m now convinced it was our guardian angel!”

Gary and Sue – and their 30 year old son, his wife and two children who currently live with the couple – celebrated the win with a bottle of champagne even though it was the early hours of the morning. Gary said, “We have a lovely family with three fabulous children and ten grandchildren so have never been short of a reason to celebrate, but that evening was certainly one of the more memorable!”

With the money safely in the bank, the couple jetted off to their holiday apartment in Tenerife for ten days of sun. Gary said, “We’ve had a place in Tenerife for a few years and this trip was already planned. Admittedly, when we booked those flights a few months back we didn’t know we’d be going away to celebrate a EuroMillions win. Had I know that, maybe we would have gone first class! It’s been lovely for Sue and me to relax in the sun and make a few plans for the future.”

“This win is going to bring us so much joy. We will be able to retire sooner than originally thought and help out the family a bit too. We have also decided to go to Switzerland next year to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary, but the biggest chunk of the money will go towards buying another apartment in Tenerife. That way, the family can come out and visit when we finally fulfil our wish to retire to the sun.”