Irish Couple start 2019 with a £114.96m EuroMillions Jackpot

It’s traditional to wish someone a Happy New Year on December 31. It’s likely that many said that to Frances and Patrick Connolly in 2018. It didn’t take long for that wish to come true though as the couple won a £114,969,775.70 jackpot in the January 1 EuroMillions draw.

The couple live in Moira in County Down, Northern Ireland and successfully matched 01-08-11-25-28 and the Lucky Stars 04 and 06 to win the jackpot. They phoned Camelot the day after the draw to claim their winnings.

Winners Galore But only one got the Jackpot

Those main numbers are all in the 1-31 range so ideal for those using birthday and anniversaries in choosing their numbers. With that being the case, it was surprising only Frances and Patrick were able to match all the numbers drawn and have the EuroMillions jackpot all to themselves. Those numbers saw 110 winners in the top four tiers, that’s up from 56 in the last draw of 2018.

The January 1 draw was a great one for other players of the EuroMillions draw. Ten other millionaires were created as they matched the Millionaire Maker codes. What a way to start the new year! A total of 11 tickets were able to match the five main numbers and one of the Lucky Stars. Five of those were sold in the UK, each winning their owner(s) £76,384.70. The other six each won €123,450 with two sold in France, one in Spain, another in Belgium and two in Austria.

Fourth Highest UK Win

Andy Carter is the senior winners’ adviser at the National Lottery. He was overjoyed at the news of a UK winner. “This win ranks at number four in the list of the biggest ever National Lottery winners and we look forward to helping them begin to enjoy their win,” he said.

The EuroMillions jackpot win is the fourth highest windfall for a UK ticket-holder. It still falls well behind the £161m top prize won by Colin and Chris Weir from Scotland who won a record £161m in 2011.

This latest UK win continues the EuroMillions success they enjoyed in 2018. Big wins in that year included a £121m jackpot win in April, though the winner decided to remain anonymous. Lesley and Fred Higgins from England won £58m and just in time for Christmas, Andrew Clark from England scooped a £76m jackpot.

Buy your EuroMillions tickets at Lottery24