Irish Lotto player wins big prize, but narrowly misses the €2.7 million jackpot

AN IRISH Lotto player won a huge sum in tonight's draw – but narrowly missed the jackpot

National Lottery chiefs have confirmed that the winning numbers in the main Lotto draw were: 10, 17, 24, 27, 38, 46 and that the bonus was 21.

The jackpot was a mouthwatering €2,710,963, and the player was only off by one number.

But the lucky gambler did manage to cash in €48,201 after matching five numbers and the bonus.

About 79 players won the lottery prize, each winning €500.

A total of 83,000 people won prizes in the Lotto and Lotto Plus draws tonight.

Separately, a winning Lotto syndicate organizer told how he continued to wait anxiously for confirmation of his win.

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

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 The Irish Sun: “That particular weekend was a Bank Holiday, which meant it was Tuesday before I could confirm our win at 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 loot at a special Lotto Plus Raffle event on Saturday, February 3, with their lucky ticket purchased from Wallace Costcutters in Wellingtonbridge in Wexford.