AN IRISHMAN who won €500,000 on the EuroMillions has revealed he hid his winning ticket in a Bible until he could cash it in.
The Co. Clare man also revealed he'd actually forgotten to buy a ticket, while his partner complained when asked to pick one up for him.
The story was shared by the National Lottery ahead of Friday night's estimated record EuroMillions jackpot of €200m — the largest jackpot prize ever seen in Ireland.
'She actually complained'
The punter from Co. Clare was one of nine Irish winners so far this year of the €500,000 EuroMillions Plus top prize, three of whom collected their winnings this week.
His win — after matching all numbers in the March 4 draw — came just days after his car had broken down.
"I had forgotten to get a ticket for the draw that day, so I asked my partner to pick one up on her way, which she actually complained about," he said.
"Needless to say, she didn't complain when I told her we were onto a winner!"
After hiding the winning ticket in a Bible, he continuously checked on it before making the trip to Lottery HQ.
Quizzed on his plans for the winnings, he revealed that he intends to clear his mortgage and upgrade his car to something more reliable.
The punter kept his winning ticket in the Bible for safe keeping (Image: D-Keine / E+ / Getty Images)
Meanwhile, a family syndicate from Dublin won the EuroMillions Plus top prize in the February 28 draw.
One member of the syndicate was left speechless when he received the great news from the head of the syndicate while sitting in the car before heading out for his shopping.
"How do you expect me to concentrate and do my shopping after telling me that we've won €500,000? I can't think straight!" he said.
Lastly, a Dublin duo claimed their €500,000 from the March 14 EuroMillions Plus draw.
Their winning ticket was picked up on a whim from Tesco Express, Kimmage Road, Dublin 6.
"I literally just popped into the shop as I was passing by to pick up a few groceries and threw in a EuroMillions ticket purely on a whim," said one of the winners.
"The news hasn't settled with us yet, but we're going to sit on it for a while before deciding what we'd like to do."
Secure your tickets early
However, those wins pale in comparison to Friday's eye-watering EuroMillions jackpot, which is rolling towards €200m.
The National Lottery is encouraging hopefuls to secure their tickets for tomorrow's draw early — either in store, through the National Lottery app, or online at www.lottery.ie — before Friday's 7.30pm deadline.
Since the EuroMillions game launched in Ireland in 2004, there have been 17 Irish EuroMillions jackpot winners and if tomorrow night's draw is won, it will be Ireland's largest ever EuroMillions prize.
The record for the largest cheque presented in the famous Winners' Room currently stands at €175m, when Reillys Daybreak on Main Street, The Naul, Co. Dublin, sold the winning ticket for Ireland's largest EuroMillions win in February 2019.
See More: Euromillions, National Lottery
