The lucky couple who scooped the massive €13,793,435 jackpot in last Saturday night's roll over Lotto draw picked up their winnings in National Lottery headquarters on Wednesday afternoon. The jackpot had been rolling over since November 18 and was one of the top 10 Lotto jackpots ever won in the State since it began in 1988.
The lucky winners who did not wish their identity to be revealed said they were "really thrilled, and completely surprised" by their win. The wife said: "We play Lotto all the time, and have had some small wins, but this is tremendous, and very unreal. We played a €10 quick pick ticket in Careys in Belmullet for the big jackpot on Saturday last. We’re really thrilled for Careys as well, and delighted that the biggest jackpot of the year came to Mayo. Normally, we play family numbers, but just because it was such a big jackpot, we decided to play a quick pick. Look what happened!"
The winning husband took on the story saying: "We needed to check the ticket online so many times on Sunday evening, once we realised the winning ticket had been sold in Mayo, and then in Belmullet. It’s a small place, so we knew we had a sporting chance of being the lucky ones, but you really never, ever, think that it will be you."
The couple and their family said they have no immediate plans to spend large amounts of their fortune: they did reveal some plans however, one of them being a skiing holiday for the family, while the husband added that he wanted to go to the European Championship finals in France in June.
His wife finished off: "We’re going to bank the jackpot straight away, have a lovely celebratory dinner this weekend, and think about what we’re going to do. We both work full time, and don’t intend giving up our work. We do intend using this win to make our lives, and those of our families, more secure financially. It’s just great to know that there’s plenty available for a rainy day for everyone we care about."
