A Dublin man has picked up a cheque worth €287,720 from the National Lottery after he matched five numbers and one lucky star in last Friday's €140m EuroMillions draw.
The man who wishes to remain anonymous won the prize with a Quick Pick ticket he bought at the Centra store in the Point Campus on Mayor Street Upper, Dublin 1.
He explained how he caused mayhem at his workplace when he checked his ticket in front of other work colleagues last Monday.
He said: “It has been a mad few days. I had no idea that I had won a prize on the Friday night so I went in to work as usual on Monday morning and we were all having the craic before we were due to clock-on.
"The EuroMillions work syndicate tickets were all photocopied and were hanging up on a notice board in the canteen so I whipped out my phone and started scanning them one-by-one with the National Lottery App.
"I think there was a small win on one of the tickets which got a great roar of excitement from the lads.
"The next thing, I pulled out my wallet to get my own ticket and I exclaimed to them all – ‘and now for the most important one.’
The jovial atmosphere turned to wild celebrations as the lucky Dublin man discovered his win right in front of their eyes.
He said: “We were all having a great laugh until my phone beeps and this message came up in front of everybody – Congratulations, you are a winner. Contact the National Lottery.
"The place went absolutely bananas. Initially, the lads told me that I could have won €10,000 which sounded amazing at that. Eventually, somebody shouts out, ‘He’s won nearly €300,000.’
Honestly, I cannot describe the celebrations, it’s not something you would usually see before work on a Monday morning.
"One of the bosses took me to one side to congratulate me but sent me straight home because he knew I probably wouldn’t have my mind on the job,” he added.
Spending plans are already underway for the Dublin family who plan to pay off their mortgage, get a new family car and a family holiday of a lifetime.
He said: “We’ve sat down as a family and we’ve made a plan to be sensible with the prize money and make it work for us as a family. I’ve already contacted the bank so we’re looking forward to paying off our mortgage.
"We’re putting a large sum aside to take care of the children and their education but we’ve also promised ourselves a small few bob to splash out on a new family car and a family holiday away in the sun which will give us a chance to celebrate the win properly.”
