Essex man celebrated football team’s win with a UK Lotto ticket worth £9 million

ESSEX MAN CELEBRATED FOOTBALL TEAM’S WIN WITH A UK LOTTO TICKET WORTH £9 MILLION

A man from Wickford in Essex celebrated his football team’s league win by buying a UK Lotto Lucky Dip ticket, which then won him £9.3 million.Paul Long, a lifetime Leyton Orient fan, bought his ticket after the team’s 3-0 win over Woking on Saturday March 24, and that ticket ended up matching all six numbers which won him the £9,339,858 jackpot.The UK Lotto player said that it took him a while to realise how much he’d won after he received an email from the National Lottery alerting him that his online UK Lotto ticket had won a prize. Two Gaelic football fans from Dublin in Ireland claimed €1 million lottery prizes between them after celebrating their team’s big All Ireland Football win.“When I saw the email on Sunday morning from Camelot I thought it would be a few quid but when I logged into my account the balance was still £3.90.” The football fan said that he then saw a message which he read as congratulating him on a £9,000 win and asking him to call the lottery helpline. The Essex man hails not far from Romford, which we have previously told you is one of Britain’s luckiest lottery playing towns.“When I called I think I must have misheard the lady on the line because she congratulated me on a jackpot win and while she confirmed a £9 million win, I think I must have still been in denial as I still thought it was £9,000.” The UK Lotto winner said that he was pleased with the £9,000 as he is currently between jobs and he thought the extra cash would ease the pressure on finding another job. A scratch card winner from Iowa originally thought she’d won $5,000 but it turned out to be a $50,000 prize.However, after calling a friend to tell him about the win, Mr Long said it was the friend who confirmed that he was a millionaire by texting him to say: “I’m not being funny, you’ve won £9 million.” A Scottish tradie who won £250,000 on a National Lottery scratch card also had trouble believing how lucky he’d been.“I try to go to most home games and this was our first win since before Christmas, so I was feeling pretty chuffed,” said Mr Long of his beloved Leyton Orient. “Not half as chuffed as I’m feeling now.” The winner has already bought a new car with his UK Lotto jackpot and plans to help out his three adult children. A EuroMillions winner who took home £4.8 million invested some of his cash in football teams including Grimsby Town and Alfreton Town F.C.Lady Luck is waiting for you every day at Lottery24.com.