A North Dublin man who collected a cheque for €1m after he hit the top prize in the Daily Million draw last Wednesday, has told how he still expects somebody to wake him up from his dream.
He presented his winning ticket to National Lottery officials in Dublin today as he fully expected to be told that he had made a mistake when checking his ticket.
He said: “I honestly still don’t believe I could be this lucky. When I came into the Lotto HQ with my ticket, I genuinely thought that I would be told that I’d checked my ticket wrong and I didn’t win anything.
"Even now that I have a cheque in my hand worth a million quid, I don’t think it’ll really hit home until all those lovely zeros appear in my bank account.”
The winning Quick Pick ticket was sold on Wednesday, September 12, at the Costcutter Express Store on North Circular Road in Phibsboro in Dublin 7.
He described what happened on the night he found out about his win, saying: “The moment you first realise you have won a prize like this is a truly indescribable feeling, nothing will ever prepare you for it.
"After I got home from work on Thursday night, I checked the numbers on Aertel and each and every one of my numbers were there in a row.
"My heart genuinely stopped for a couple of seconds and my stomach was in absolute knots. The following morning, I read in the paper that the local shop had sold the lucky ticket which gave me even further hope that I was probably the winner.”
The Dubliner said he has no intention of giving up work anytime soon, but admitted that his new fortune will have far-reaching consequences for his family.
He said: “The million euro will certainly be put to good use.
"I haven’t told a soul so I can’t wait to get the family together and hand them each an envelope with a cheque inside."
"It’s a dream come true for me to help people out like that. It’s a massive bonus alright but it won’t affect my day-to-day life and I’ll be back to work in the morning as usual,” he added.
