A lottery winner has opened up about the moment they discovered they’d won a life-changing prize on the National Lottery – and their five word response after seeing the money online
A lucky lottery winner has opened up on the electrifying moment they realised they’d struck gold with a win. Many of us have fantasied about what it would be like to land that life-altering lump sum and what we’d do with it. Winning big could mean the end of crippling debts, no more mortgage payments, the freedom to move or explore the world, and being able to help and treat family and friends.
But what does it really feel like to become outrageously richer overnight? Curiosity got the better of one Reddit user, who penned: “Those who’ve won big on the lottery, what is it like? What was life like before and what is it like now?”
Unsurprisingly, many people flocked to the comments section to make jokes about their modest winnings of £2.40 or a tenner, pretending they were life-changing figures.
Some people though, were able to shed some light on the reality of life as a lottery winner.
One victor revealed they had bagged a hefty six-figure sum. They confessed: “I won £180,000 a few years ago. My heart was going like the clappers. It was very surreal.
“I checked it first thing in the morning, when I saw the email, and called my mum and dad immediately. I think if I won the jackpot, I’d have a heart attack.”
The original writer of the post replied: “Oh wow congrats! I think I’d be the same. £180,000, even though it isn’t the jackpot, is still a life-changing amount of money.”
They probed further, checking whether the victory came through playing online, and if the fortunate winner had received the typical National Lottery notification hinting at the prize awaiting them, or whether they received something more detailed.
The winner, who did play online to secure this win, expressed their gratitude for the money and described receiving a standard email notification, identical to those sent to winners of any amount.
They said: “Same email, nothing fancy or any big announcements. It was when I logged in instead of the usual “£0.60″ in the little amount box, it said ‘£180,000’. S*** myself.”
Upon seeing the astonishing amount in their National Lottery account, just five words ran through their mind: “I thought, ‘I need my glasses on’. Sent screenshots to my parents who both confirmed my eyes weren’t playing tricks.”
Before this significant win, their largest prize had been a modest “hundred quid or something”. They had purchased numerous lucky dips, but ultimately won with the same numbers they had played “for years and years”.
When asked which game they had played to secure the six-figure sum, the winner revealed it was the Lotto.
The win occurred as part of a ‘Must Be Won’ draw, which the National Lottery explains: “Lotto can only Rollover five times. The fifth Rollover is a Must Be Won draw.
“In a Lotto Must Be Won draw where no one wins the jackpot by matching six main numbers, there’s a Rolldown. This means the jackpot is shared by players matching two or more main numbers, so thousands can expect to win a boosted cash prize!”
The lucky winner added: “It was one of those trickle down ones. The jackpot hadn’t been won for ages so, because no one got all six numbers, it rolled down and I won more than I would have on a normal draw.”
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