'We're in absolute disbelief': Lotto players from all over Ireland flock to capital to collect prizes
Lucky Lotto winners from all over the country flocked to the capital this week to collect their prizes across a range of National Lottery games.A Dublin man is still coming to terms with his incredible win as he collected a cheque worth €1 million after scoring the Lotto Plus 1 top prize in the April 18 draw. He picked up his ticket while passing Spar in Perrystown, Dublin 12.“My wife and I were out and just took a notion to check our Lotto ticket. Like always, I scanned it on the app, and suddenly ‘You’ve won big’ popped up on the screen! I honestly froze - that’s not something you ever expect to see. We were scrambling to figure out how much we’d won, it just didn’t feel real!”“I’ve been checking and rechecking the ticket non-stop ever since, just to make sure it’s actually real! My wife kept saying, ‘This has to be a joke!’ Even after confirming it with the Prize Claims team, we’re still half expecting someone to wake us up.”The Dubliner now has his sights set on a special family holiday later this year to celebrate the win. For now, he admits the reality of becoming a National Lottery millionaire is “still only starting to sink in”.Meanwhile, a Galway syndicate got an unexpected surprise after unveiling a €150,000 top prize on an All Cash Surprise Scratch Card, purchased from Centra Carnmore, Oranmore, Co. Galway.“We’re in absolute disbelief! I actually bought a couple of scratch cards as gifts and at the very last second, threw one in for myself. When I realised it was a winner, I always imagined I’d be jumping up and down or screaming, but instead I just stood there in total shock. None of us could believe it, we kept looking at each other thinking, ‘Is this really happening?!’”The syndicate shared, “We haven’t properly celebrated yet, but we’re already talking about upgrading our holiday to a five-star trip, something we’d never usually do! It's the perfect excuse to treat ourselves. There are a few big milestones coming up too, so it’s going to be a very special year ahead!”A Westmeath man also made the trip to Lottery HQ to collect his Lotto Match 5 + Bonus prize from the May 2 draw. His winning ticket worth €146,878 was purchased from The Grove Service Station in Baylough, Athlone, Co. Westmeath.“It was almost a week after the draw, and I had a couple of Lotto tickets that needed checking. I asked the sales assistant to scan them, and one printed a ‘Contact the National Lottery’ slip. At the time, I couldn’t understand why he couldn’t just tell me how much I’d won!”The Midlands player admitted he has taken the win in his stride, with the winning ticket casually sitting on his mantelpiece ever since. After sharing the news with family and close friends, he is now looking forward to treating them to a well-earned holiday in search of some sunshine.Meanwhile, tonight’s EuroMillions jackpot is set to roll towards an estimated €105 million while tomorrow night’s Lotto jackpot is heading towards an estimated €3.8 million.Players dreaming of how they would celebrate if they were to win this weekend are reminded that tickets can be purchased in-store, through the National Lottery app or at www.lottery.ie. The deadline for EuroMillions ticket sales is 7.30pm this evening, while tickets can be purchased for Saturday’s Lotto draw ahead of 7.45pm tomorrow evening.Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
