Life changing

Change of numbers delivers £10Million Lotto win for Forfar man

A Forfar man changed his regular Lotto numbers and is now celebrating winning a stunning £10Million jackpot. John Bowman, pictured with his daughter Emma, updated his lucky lines to ensure he had some numbers in the 50s. Fate then saw 51 and 55 deliver his £10,317,199 life changing win.

The multi–million pound win was even more of a surprise for the Scottish ladder maker as he initially thought he had won £10,000. Over the moon at his good fortune he got a friend to check his ticket.

John said, "I checked my numbers in the house on Sunday morning and thought I'd been lucky enough to win £10,000. I went over to a friend's so he could double check it for me and when he looked it up on his phone he realised it was actually 1,000 times that amount – £10,317,199 to be exact! I was delighted."

John's first thought was for his children. "I went back home and phoned my two daughters Lisa and Emma, I told them to sit down because I had some news for them – they didn’t believe me at first."

Despite becoming a millionaire John kept his feet on the ground when he went to his local pub to celebrate. "My first drink as a millionaire was still a pint of beer."

Change of Lucky Numbers

John regularly plays 5 Lotto lines of his favourite numbers every week. When 10 balls were added last October, as part of changes to make more millionaires and create bigger rolling jackpots, John decided to update his lines to include some of the new ones.

"I've played the lottery since it started but I haven’t had any big wins, just 3 numbers here and there. When the new balls were introduced I thought I better update my lines to include some numbers in the 50s. Lucky I did because my winning line had 51 and 55 in it!"

As well as his daughters John will treat himself to a place in the sun with his new fortune. "The first thing I did was to look after my daughters and I will also be sharing some of my good fortune with family and friends.

"I want to buy a home abroad, somewhere with plenty of sun, and I also like travelling so I'll be looking at holidays in Europe. I enjoy Formula 1 too so I think a trip to the Monaco Grand Prix will be on the cards."

John, a footballer who played for Perth team St Johnstone when he was younger, is still a sports fan, "I enjoy watching football but I don't support any particular team. I quite often go along to see my local side Forfar Athletic so I'll keep doing that. The win also means I’ll have plenty of time to play more golf and bowls."

One thing John won't be doing is heading back to work. The former ladder builder worked for a local firm Ramsay Ladders: “They are a lovely local family business. I’ve been in touch and they are all delighted for me but I won't be keeping on my job.”

John is one of 9 Lotto jackpot winners so far this year. This includes Lotto's biggest ever winner who banked £35Million on 6th April. In January David and Carol Martin from Hawick shared the biggest ever Lotto jackpot prize with an anonymous ticket–holder, banking an incredible £33,035,323 each. Just one month later, Gerry and Lisa Cannings from Peterborough won a staggering £32,534,188.

Meet the Martins and read more about the Cannings who waited a week to claim their jackpot.

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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