I won the €1 million Lotto jackpot… but had to wait an extra day to claim for a unique reason

A WINNING Lotto syndicate organizer has told how he was left anxiously awaiting confirmation of his win.

Wayne O'Neill said: “It felt like the longest Bank Holiday weekend in history.”

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After scooping the €1 million National Lottery jackpot prize, the 32-strong Wexford joinery syndicate had to wait an extra day to confirm their win.

The delay was due to the claims office being closed for the February bank holiday.

Syndicate organizer Wayne O'Neill described the extra day of waiting that week as “a bit of a burden”.

He told us: “That particular weekend was a bank holiday, which meant 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 the first one on the phone on Tuesday morning. As soon as I spoke to the guys at Claims and they gave me the news I was hoping for, I went straight to our Syndicate WhatsApp group to share the news.

“I think everyone was waiting with anticipation as the phone was full of calls and text messages for days.

“I thought maybe I should leave the group or turn off the phone for a little peace and quiet!”

The workers bagged the prize during a special Lotto Plus Raffle event on Saturday, February 3, with their winning ticket purchased at Wallace Costcutters in Wellingtonbridge, County Wexford.

The Ballingly Joinery winners divided the seven-figure sum into 32 parts, with each winning €31,000.

But the lucky winners had to wait 19 days before they could visit the Lotto headquarters in Dublin today.

And they were also eagerly awaiting the return of one of their colleagues, Nuala Power, from her honeymoon to Barbados.

Wayne said the group toasted the news with friends and family in their local community.

He said: “The news spread quickly to the community because there were so many of us in the syndicate.

“We received good wishes for days and days afterward. One of the members really got her married life going because she actually went on a honeymoon that we won.

“While the rest of us were out here celebrating together, she was watching all this via WhatsApp while enjoying her holiday.

“What a time for a victory! We are all very happy and have different plans for what we would like to do.

'Major event'

“We lived for the big event at Lotto headquarters and handed over the all-important ticket that has been in a safe for the past few weeks.

“The most urgent plan we have now is to enjoy a party together to mark the occasion.”

The father-of-two revealed he plans to spend his Lotto discount on a deposit for a house.

Wayne said: “It's still sinking in, to be honest.”

Celebrations

The syndicate boss said there has been frenzy in the local community since Lotto bosses confirmed a winning ticket had been sold in Wellingtonbridge.

Wayne said: “After the draw that Saturday evening one of the syndicate members logged into the National Lottery app and saw that the €1 million prize had been won in Wellingtonbridge where we bought our ticket.

“We knew there was a special promotion that night and that a lottery winner would definitely win the bigger prize, so we were hopeful at the time.

“Of course I quickly checked our ticket when I heard that and I could see that we had the ticket number, but I wasn't sure if it was just the €500 we had won or the special lottery prize of the extra €1,000,000.”

Honeymoon delight

Newlywed Nuala, who has just returned from Barbados, told us she was “over the moon” with the win.

She said: “I've just got back from my honeymoon and now I've come home with around £31,000. I'm over the moon.

“We got back from our honeymoon last week, I just got back to work this week, I think they (her colleagues) were desperate for me to sign for the award.

“My husband is happy with it.

“It won't change us, but it's beautiful. It's a wonderful thing to happen.

“I'm so happy. I only went back to work this week, the week has been great.

“Today we are all free and celebrating.

“The owner of the company was great. The owner paid for our bus and food, and no one had to take a day of vacation to come to Dublin.

“It's been a bit of a whirlwind, but I love it.”

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