Life changing

Life-changing win for young couple

A young couple from Basingstoke are busily applying for passports and preparing to take their first long haul flight together after winning £1M and an amazing experience in Australia.

David and Sam Mackie are the first winners in the amazing EuroMillions Mega Friday draw which promised 25 players £1M and a private island getaway. The couple, who have two young boys, haven't been able to take a holiday abroad or even have a honeymoon since their wedding two and a half years ago.

After buying a EuroMillions Lucky Dip online they are now celebrating banking £1 million, by buying a new house and planning for their trip to a millionaire's paradise island.

The hard working couple – David is an IT manager, and Sam, a dental nurse who is currently on maternity leave – have been together five years. David said, "Last year we had a week in Cornwall, this is a little bit different. We looked at Vegas for our honeymoon but it is tricky saving money for holiday with a young family and we never managed to go. Sam has only ever been on a plane to Leeds, it really is a once in a lifetime chance and I already have the forms to apply for passports for Sam and our boys."

Last year we had a week in Cornwall, this is a little bit different.

David got the email saying had a win and checked his account on Saturday morning. He recalls, "I usually joke that I am off to check my million when I get the email, but this time I didn't. I just said to Sam I was off to look at my £3 win."

After spotting the message saying he had won £1 million and a private island getaway David called out to his wife, "She didn’t believe me, but once she saw my face, and I think I was shaking by this point, she decided to double check. We both logged off and back on again to the account and the message was still there. I then had to wait 15 minutes to call Camelot and that was when it started becoming real."

David and Sam wasted no time to start to spend and went out on Saturday to buy a new house. Having looked recently they had seen the home they would like – a plot on a new development – but it was out of their price range.

David said, "The one we had always wanted was there and we got it. It is amazing to be in that position. I stress about mortgages and money and it is completely life-changing to not to have to worry any longer."

The EuroMillions draw on Friday 31st October saw 25 guaranteed millionaires made in the UK who each all also won a private island getaway. The getaway will see the winner and seven friends fly business class to Australia before a helicopter transfer to the amazing Makepeace Island on Australia's Sunshine Coast. There they will experience 14 nights of pure indulgence with their own private chef, personal spa treatments and a sunset cruise.

The National Lottery has been changing the lives of winners and supporting good causes across the UK since 1994. In that time, there have been more than 7,000 new millionaires created and by playing The National Lottery you raise over £4 million for Good Causes every dayΔ.

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