An Edinburgh school caretaker’s wonderful National Lottery windfall
John McDowell describes his £183,257.40 EuroMillions win as “surreal”. The school caretaker, who has been playing The National Lottery for 3 years, can’t wait to enjoy his fabulous windfall and splash out on gifts for his family.
The 53-year-old dad-of-three has his eyes on a new car to enjoy trips away, as well as treating his mum to a new kitchen. The family man also plans to help his daughters get on the property ladder.
John’s winning journey began late one evening at home, when everyone was asleep. After looking at his phone one last time before going to bed, he noticed an email from The National Lottery. Planning to ignore it, curiosity got the better of him…
He said, “I realised it said I had matched five main numbers and one Lucky Star.” John, who was looking after his unwell dad at the time, continued; “Everyone in the house was in bed so I made myself a cup of tea before telling anyone – I then woke my dad up to tell him and he didn’t understand at first… he thought I was joking! It’s so surreal, I still can’t believe it.”
Now, first up on the list of fun – John is delighted to help to fulfil his brother’s dream of travelling abroad, by booking a holiday together to Egypt this Christmas.
He said, “My brother has never been abroad. I asked him whether he fancied spending Christmas in Egypt as it would be nice to spend some time swapping the cold Scottish weather for somewhere warm at that time of year. He agreed, so I told him to get a passport ordered… it will be really special.”
By playing any National Lottery game, players generate £30Million each week for National Lottery-funded projects. With over 690,000 grants having been made across the UK, this money supports everything from the arts to the sport sectors – from the local charity making a difference where you live, through to helping our nation’s athletes win Olympic and Paralympic medals.
30th September 2024
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 7,200 new millionaires created and by playing The National Lottery you raise over £4 million for Good Causes every dayΔ.
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