Lotto tickets are selling fast in Newspoint Newsagents at the Galway Shopping Centre following a recent €5,541,001 jackpot win.
The ticket for the draw on Wednesday August 3 was sold on Sunday July 31 with store manager Stephen Dowling acknowledging that the shop has been busy during the past week.
“Our lotto sales have gone through the roof since it was announced,” he says. “More and more people are coming in to do the lotto, they have seen all of the hype about it. Everyone is in doing the lotto now thinking that since it was won here already, they are coming in thinking it is a lucky shop.
“It was won here before with previous owners when Stephen Daly had it. Around 11 years ago was the last big win here. “
Rumours had been circulating a syndicate involving 10 people selected the winning combination, and Dowling says the group have the used the ame numbers for 24 and a half years.
“It all clicked last Wednesday. I believe there are four retired and six still working. How long more they are going to be active, I don't know after this.”
Newspoint Newsagents is owned by Billy Shearer with Dowling delighted the regular lotto players’ perseverance has been rewarded.
“They have been customers of ours for years so we are over the moon,” he adds. “As long as I've been working for Billy, the lad that does the lotto for them is into us all of the time. We are delighted, especially when they are 10 local lads. They were in the shop doing the lotto again, they are sound lads.”
Two years ago another shop owned by Billy Shearer, XL Newsagents, had another significant return.
“We had a 500,000 win with the EuroMillions during the first lockdown,” Dowling recalls. “We couldn't really have any celebrations, we did our own little stuff at the time.
“At the time nobody from the Lotto was able to come down to support the win because it was during a lockdown. That was in the Eyre Square Shopping Centre shop.”
