It was a day to remember in Lotto HQ with a syndicate of 32 visiting the Winners Room to pick up a cheque worth €1,000,500. The group, who work together in Ballingly Joinery, were thrilled to make their way to Dublin to collect their winnings from the 3rd February draw after purchasing their winning ticket at Wallace Costcutters in Wellington Bridge.
The Ballingly Joinery Syndicate manager, Wayne O’Neill, spoke about the excitement and disbelief that the Wexford winners felt when they heard about a big win in the area.
“After the draw that Saturday night, one of the syndicate members logged on to the National Lottery app and saw that the €1 million prize was won in Wellington Bridge where we purchased our ticket. We knew there was a special promotion on that night and that a Raffle winner would definitely win the bigger prize so we were well and truly hopeful at that stage. Of course, I was quick to check our ticket after hearing that and I could see that we had the Raffle number but I wasn’t sure if it was just the €500 that we won or the special Raffle prize of the additional €1 million.”
While a long weekend would usually be welcomed by all, the group found the extra day to be a bit of a burden that week.
“That particular weekend was a Bank Holiday which meant that it was Tuesday before I could confirm our win with the Claims team so to say it felt like the longest Bank Holiday weekend in history would be an understatement. I must have been first on the phone on Tuesday morning. As soon as I spoke to the guys in Claims and they gave me the news I had been hoping for, I was straight into our syndicate Whatsapp group to share the news. I think everyone was waiting in anticipation because the phone was hopping with calls and texts for days after. I thought I might have to leave the group or switch the phone off for a bit of peace!”
The group shared the good news with their Wexford community and one syndicate member had no choice but to join in the celebrations from a very special trip.
“The news was quick to get out to the community with there being so many of us in the syndicate. We were getting well wishes for days and days after. One of the members well and truly got her married life off to some start because she was actually on her honeymoon we won. While the rest of us were here celebrating together, she was seeing all of this through Whatsapp while living it up on holiday. What a time for a win! We’re all absolutely thrilled and have different plans for what we would like to do. We have been living for the big event in Lotto HQ and handing over the all-important ticket which has been living in a safe for the past few weeks. Now the most pressing plan we have is to enjoy a celebration together to mark the occasion.”
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