Mayo man claims €350,000 lotto prize

Mayo man claims €350,000 lotto prize


Anton McNulty
antonmcnulty@mayonews.ie

A LUCKY lotto winner did not realise he had the winning ticket in his possession until he decided to check a pile of tickets a fortnight after the draw was made.
The winning Lotto Plus 1 draw took place on October 6 last and the lucky ticket worth €350,000 was bought in Carey’s Newsagents on Main Street, Belmullet. At the time there was a number of rumours circulating around Belmullet about who the winner may be while the same time the real winner was oblivious to his new found wealth.
“It hasn’t sunk in,” said the winner who wishes to keep the win private. “I had a pile of tickets and only checked them the other day. It’s unbelievable how you’re life can just turn around in the space of a few days.”
The lucky Mayo man who described himself as a regular lotto player collected his €350,000 cheque last week from National Lottery headquarters in Dublin. As he celebrating the win over a glass of champagne, the happy winner said he ‘needed a bit more time’ to think about how he’ll spend his new found fortune.
The €4 Quick Pick ticket was bought on Friday, October 5 and it is the second time Carey’s have sold a large winning ticket. In 1991, a lucky customer shared a Lotto jackpot, taking home €710,422.
Indeed the Carey family have proved to be lucky when it comes to selling winning lotto tickets with three Carey siblings - Hugh, Tony and Teresa - selling seven winning lotto tickets in their stores in Belmullet, Loughrea and Dublin. Over the 25 year history of the National Lottery, the total winning jackpots bought in their stores has been estimated close to €16 million.
This is the second time a big winning ticket was bought in Belmullet in the last year with the McIntyre family from Ballyglass winning €11million last October.

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