EuroMillions Sets British Record
Winning the EuroMillions jackpot on Friday 12 February has enabled Nigel Page and Justine Laycock to set a new record for the biggest lottery win in the nation’s history. The couple, who are from Cirencester in Gloucestershire, owned one of the two lottery tickets that won the £112 million jackpot, and their £56 million share of the prize is £10.5 million bigger than the previous record of £45.5 million. That previous record was jointly held by a lottery syndicate and by Les and Samantha Scadding, who shared another massive EuroMillions jackpot in November 2009.
Nigel discovered the win when he checked his online account after seeing a news item about the EuroMillions draw on Saturday morning. The news item had said that two tickets had won the jackpot, one in Spain and one in the UK, and Nigel joked that he just might be the UK winner they were referring to. When he logged on to his lottery account and saw the win of £56 million on the computer screen, he was rendered speechless. “I started shaking and couldn’t speak,” he said. “I just kept looking at it on in the screen in front of me but I couldn’t say a word!”
When he had managed to get his initial shock under control, he shared the news with Justine, who called the lottery organisers in the UK to confirm the win formally.
The couple enjoyed a breakfast of bacon sandwiches at a local café as they waited for a lottery representative to meet with them. That might sound like a rather low-key way to celebrate a £56 million win, but the couple have remained wonderfully down-to-earth about the whole thing. Just as importantly, they seem to be taking the massive amount of publicity that they are receiving in their stride.
How long Nigel and Justine will hold onto their position as the biggest lottery winners in the UK is a question that nobody can answer. The previous record lasted little more than three months, so maybe a UK player will win an even bigger EuroMillions prize before the year is out. What we can say with certainty is that Nigel and Justine’s success is sure to inspire plenty of people to play EuroMillions this week and for many more weeks to come! Play EuroMillions online today and the next big winner could be you!
16/02/2010 10:17:52