Lucky lotto players arrive in Dublin to collect their winnings

The Winner’s Room at The National Lottery office has been absolutely brimming over with excitement as lucky players from right across Ireland arrive to pick up their prizes, won across a range of National Lottery Games.  

One man, from Dublin, didn’t have far to travel to the city centre to pick up his cheque, worth a cool €1 million, after he scored the Lotto Plus 1 top prize in the draw on April 18.

He purchased his ticket at Spar in Perrystown, Dublin 12. 

He said ‘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 couple plan to take an extra 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 5-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.’

Another winner travelled up from County Westmeath to pick up his prize after he matched 5 plus the bonus on 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 says he has taken the win in his stride, and the winning ticket has been sitting on the mantlepiece ever since he found out he had won.

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.