National Lottery makes two players instant millionaires
Photo: National Lottery makes two players instant millionaires (GettyImages)
The National Lottery in Ireland has created two new millionaires just before Christmas through its Saturday night draw, with one player in Co Kilkenny winning €1 million in the Lotto Plus 1 draw and another in north county Dublin winning a special €1,000,500 Lotto Plus raffle prize, according to The Irish Times.
The Kilkenny winner, an online player, matched all six numbers (01, 02, 03, 11, 32, 35 with bonus 42) in the Lotto Plus 1 draw, and the Dublin winner's Quick Pick ticket, bought at the AppleGreen store in Lusk, won the additional raffle prize.
This special raffle prize was introduced after a Monaghan ticket holder missed claiming a prize last November. The winning raffle number was 9652, and while all ticket holders with this number won €500, one player received an additional €1 million.
Despite the two significant wins, the main Lotto jackpot of €9.8 million was not won, rolling over to an estimated €10.2 million for the next draw.
Largest Irish lotto winners
The five biggest Irish Lotto winners of all time are:
- €19 Million — 15th January 2022, Co Mayo. This record-setting jackpot was claimed by a single ticket after a special 'Will Be Won' draw, which was organized as the prize had been capped for over three months;
- €18.9 Million — 28th June 2008, Co Carlow. A syndicate of 16 workers from the Dan Morrissey quarry and concrete plant in Bennekerry, Co Carlow, won this jackpot, which remained the record for over 13 years;
- €16.7 Million — 14th April 2010, Co Waterford. This substantial prize was won by a single ticket, with the winning entry sold at Eason's store in Dungarvan, Co Waterford. The winner chose to remain anonymous;
- €16.3 Million — 23rd October 2010, Dublin. A Dublin man became the National Lottery's 400th millionaire with this win, opting to stay anonymous while claiming his prize;
- €16.1 Million — 28th July 2007, Co Cork. The Cunningham family from Co Cork claimed this enormous jackpot, the biggest ever seen in the Irish Lotto at that time. The winning ticket was a €4 Quick Pick purchased at Twomey's Centra shop in Farranree.
National lottery prizes
The creation of these two millionaires comes as part of the National Lottery's ongoing efforts to award prizes through various lottery games and special events, which include regular draws and occasional special raffle events.
The Lotto Plus Raffle typically awards €500 to winners, but this particular draw included a rare opportunity for a significantly larger prize due to the unclaimed winnings from a previous draw.
We recently wrote that Durwin Hickman, an airport worker in the Bay Area, won $20 million on a California Lottery Scratcher.
