Unplanned purchase wins family €500,000 EuroMillions Plus prize

UNPLANNED PURCHASE WINS FAMILY €500,000 EUROMILLIONS PLUS PRIZE

A family syndicate from Cork City in Ireland are celebrating after winning a EuroMillions Plus prize of €500,000 in the August 22 draw, but it was a win that very nearly didn’t happen.The family have asked to remain anonymous, that’s just like the couple from Queensland in Australia that won $3m playing Australian Powerball.The husband of the family revealed that he hadn’t in fact been planning to buy a ticket for the August 22 EuroMillions draw saying that “We very rarely buy EuroMillions tickets, which makes the win more incredible."But then fate played its hand on August 19 as he was in a queue at J.J. O’Driscoll’s superstore in Cork City when the customer in front of him bought a EuroMillions ticket and that got him thinking. "It was a case of monkey see, monkey do because I had no intention of buying a ticket until that," he added. John Yager II from Michigan, USA, had no intention to buy a lottery ticket but ended up winning a $390,422 Fantasy 5 jackpot. A couple from New Zealand bought a ticket on a whim and won a $9m New Zealand Powerball top prize.Not being used to buying EuroMillions tickets, the family didn’t immediately check the results of the August 22 draw. It was only when his wife’s sister asked her if she’d checked her EuroMillions ticket that it was checked, not that she even knew there had been one purchased.There had been news of a local win but the family never dreamed it was them that had won the €500,000 prize. “When the news of the local win spread, my sister rang me the following day, jokingly asking if we’d won. I had no idea we even had a ticket so it definitely came as a shock when my husband produced the winning ticket in front of my eyes," she said. It’s the latest big win in Ireland after a recent €9.4m Irish Lotto prize was claimed. Two years ago, a syndicate from Co. Cork landed a €3.8m Irish Lotto jackpot.The lucky EuroMillions Plus winner added “We would like to think that we’ll be sensible with the win so the mortgage will be paid once the cheque clears and after that we’ll discuss new cars and holidays homes and whatnot," she added. Englishman Andrew Nabb bought a new Audi 3 car after his £247,513 EuroMillions win.Purchase your tickets online at Lottery24.com, it's quick and easy.