Sometimes, it pays to check one’s belongings every now and then. This is the lesson one 51-year-old man from Lincolnshire, United Kingdom learned after he discovered he won £76,369,806.80 million (around $96 million or P5.1 billion) in November from the pile of unchecked lottery tickets he keeps in his van.
Andrew Clark won the 12th biggest EuroMillions jackpot in the U.K. on Nov. 2, as reported by Sky News on Friday, Dec. 21. The self-employed builder loves buying tickets but has the habit of stashing them in his van unchecked.
When his partner, Trisha Fairhurst, and her niece, Louise, heard that there is still an unclaimed prize, they “nagged” Clark to check his stash. However, the lottery ticket hoarder remained firm in dodging their nagging.
It was after six weeks that he finally gave in to his family’s request, the report stated. While he and Fairhurst were watching television, she reminded him to check his pile of tickets.
He then went to his van and took the tickets. He sorted them, from oldest to the newest, starting with the Lotto before going through the EuroMillions tickets.
Imagine his surprise when he discovered that he was indeed the one who won the unclaimed prize in the news, the report said. Aside from telling Fairhurst to “start looking for a mansion,” Clark did not expound on his plans for the lottery jackpot.
“It almost feels like some magical Christmas story, the man who nearly lost £76m!” Clark said in the report. “For all our family, I’m very pleased that Trisha and Louise nagged me to check those tickets!” Kate Matriano/JB
RELATED STORIES:
Mom’s ‘lucky feeling’ leads daughter to win $4 million in lottery
US man buys lottery ticket after rain stops him from mowing his lawn and bags $10M jackpot