We all won the lottery! On it’s 20th anniversary, a winner for every year of …

November 15, 2014 by admin
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‘When we bought our new house three years ago, I chose one I could clean from top to bottom in a single day. The only extravagant thing we spent money on was a racehorse, which we nicknamed ‘Sicknote’ because he always fell ill before a race.

‘December 6th is the 19th anniversary of our win, and also our 36th wedding anniversary – a double celebration.’

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Deana Sampson, 52, won £5,439,681 in October 1996. She lives in a five-bedroom house in Sheffield with her daughter.

She says: ‘I was living in a council house and struggling to survive as a mobile hairdresser when I won.

‘I invested in an online lingerie business and a property portfolio, including a holiday home in Florida.

‘Winning the Lottery completely changed my life, but coming from humble beginnings I knew that I had to make the money work for me and my family. I’ve made some good investments and am now a lady of leisure, which is lovely.’

Best buy: Jackie King, 58, from Grimsby, won £14,003,369 in November 1998. She said her most important purchase was a rescue spaniel, Sukii, who is deaf

Mark Brudenell, 50, from Stockton-on-Tees, won £916,915 in February 1997. He lives with wife Cheryl, 48, in a five-bedroom home.

He says: ‘We were watching TV for the draw when my numbers came up. The very next morning – a Sunday – we went to the local Jaguar showroom.

‘I don’t think the salesmen thought we were serious, but we were on the television on Monday and when I returned, they recognised me and couldn’t do enough. I had a brand new Jaguar by the end of the week. I was 32 when I won, and within three years, I felt I had lost my sense of purpose. There’s only so many cars you can buy, or so many holidays you can go on.

‘I started my own double glazing business, and now employ ten people. Meanwhile my wife is a mad Robbie Williams fan and flies everywhere for his concerts. I describe it as her only problem.’

Roy Gibney, 60, from Grimsby, won £7,500,000 in July 1998. He lives in a six-bedroom house with wife Darlene, 41, and son Louis, seven.

He says: ‘When I won I enjoyed all the luxuries you would expect – even featuring my winning lottery numbers on the bottom of my 50 foot swimming pool.

‘I gave up work for 14 years, but I got bored. I started a sheet metal business, and some nights I work from 7 in the evening until 7 in the morning, and I’m fitter and happier than I’ve been for years.

‘I’m renovating the house too, and one day Louis will own it and say, ‘My Dad did all this.’ I only own one car – you can only drive one at a time, so there’s no point in owning ten.’

Jackie King, 58, from Grimsby, won £14,003,369 in November 1998. She divorced after winning and lives with her two children.

She says: ‘When I won, I arranged a day trip to Lapland as a thank you to friends, neighbours and my mum for all their support. We moved from a three-bedroom semi to a six-bedroom detached house. But the children stayed at state school. Sometimes people would come around and I could tell quite quickly who was genuine and who just wanted to poke around. My most important buy was a rescue Spaniel, Suki, who is deaf, bald and nine-and-a half. She cost me £100 and that’s the best money I’ve ever spent. Even now, I look around my house and have to pinch myself.’

Dean Allen, 40, won £13,861,061 in August 2000. He lives in a five-bedroom house in Chipping Ongar, Essex, with wife Louise, 36, and their two children.

He says: ‘I was 26 when I won, and I went out and bought a shirt and jacket for the press conference. I then swapped my Ford Fiesta for a Porsche 911, my dream car, and married Louise, my girlfriend of three months. My most unusual purchase has been two acres of the moon! I bought it on the internet. I never went back to work again, but now I enjoy the freedom to do the things I love. I do the school run every morning, have lunch with Louise and she always finds something for me to do around the house.’

Nikki Otterburn 42, from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, won £2,216,029 in November 2001. She split up from her then boyfriend after winning and is currenly single.

She says: ‘I was towards the end of my shift as a fitness instructor at a gym when I saw the draw on the TV. I was in shock, but I had to carry on working. That night, my then-boyfriend and I went to a nightclub and I ordered a bottle of champagne – my first Lottery purchase. I invested the money and take a salary of £35,000 a year on the interest. It makes me feel normal and I still shop in Morrisons. I was living in a two-up, two-down, and now I have a three-bedroom cottage set in seven acres, with stables and an arena. I own two horses and two ponies, teach at a pony club and wear wellies and woollies.’

Modest: Malcolm Wilkins (left) bought his brother Chris a Mitsubishi after winning more than £10million. Nikki Otterburn won £2,216,029 in 2001

Malcolm Wilkins, 54 won £10,166,103 in January 2002. He separated from his partner after winning and lives alone in a three-bedroom house near Margate, Kent.

He says: ‘The first thing I did days after winning was buy my brother Chris a Mitsubishi. I chose a Mondeo Estate for myself, which makes me laugh now. My mother’s dream was to have a house with roses on the door and to go on a cruise. She died before I won, but in her memory I renovated a cottage and planted roses at the door, and I went on a cruise around the Mediterranean two months after my win. I was hooked – and I’ve been on 29 cruises in total, around the world. Each time, I think: ‘Oh, Mum would have loved this.’

Football fan: Thea Bristow, pictured celebrating her win with late husband Paul, won £15million in 2004. She is now Chairwoman of club Torquay United

Alex Dyer, 60, won £5,957,937 in December 2003 with her late husband John. She lives in Andalucia, Spain with partner Gary, 51.

She says: ‘John and I bought a villa in Spain overlooking the mountains and by June 2012 decided to move to Spain full time. I flew home to make some arrangements. I kissed John goodbye that morning at the villa , but when the phone rang in the evening I discovered John had died. He had gone for a siesta, and had never woken up. I didn’t know if I should move, but one morning in January 2013 I woke up in Yorkshire, packed the dogs in a motorhome and drove for three days to Spain. I bought myself a horse and now I gallop every morning. Winning the Lottery can’t protect you from grief and loss. It doesn’t buy you happiness either – but it enhances it.’

Thea Bristow, 60, won £15,000,000 in July 2004. Her husband Paul died in July 2010 and she lives in a two-bedroom converted loft in Torquay with her son.

She says: ‘The first thing I actually purchased was a Kenwood Chef Food Processor – from Harrods! Paul and I went away on a £10 caravan holiday for a week in Newquay to unwind after winning. We paid for the local scout group to go camping in Canada, and invested in his beloved football team, Torquay United. I have continued to support them and am now their Chairwoman. I am told I haven’t changed, but I think I am less tolerant of mistakes and inefficiency.’

Sarah Cockings, 31, won £3,045,705 in April 2005. She lives in Morpeth, Northumberland, with her partner and son.

She says: ‘No matter how sensible I am with my winnings, I’ll always be known as the person who paid for her two sisters to have breast enlargements. People still stop me in the street and say: ‘Are you the girl who bought her sisters the new boobs?’ In fact, my sisters had been to see a surgeon for a consultation the day before I won. It seemed natural to pay for their enhancements when the surgery was carried out three months later.’

Dean Hardman, 40, won £6,750,278 in November 2006. Dean, 40, lives in Heywood, Greater Manchester with wife Stella, 45.

He says: ‘Six months after I won, I bought a five-bedroom house with real wow factor. It had a cinema room downstairs and a huge kitchen. We moved in with Stella’s three children but it was so big it never felt like home. We sold it, and bought a three-bedroom house with more than an acre of land. It doesn’t look impressive but I learned that the smaller things in life count. Stella and I ran a pub together when we won – and we still work there. Every weekend, I am stocking fridges and pulling pints. My main extravagance is three racehorses. Our latest one won his first race in April and we cried. It was like winning the Lottery all over again.’

Karen Child, 41, won £8,471,383 in February 2007. She divorced after winning and lives in Clowne, near Chesterfield, with her three children.

She says: ‘I was living in a three-bedroom council house when I won, and one of the first things I did was walk to the beautiful house owned by my friend’s parents, and asked them if they would sell it to me. It was a former nursing home with four bedrooms. One year later they sold it to me, so I have my dream home. I was a die-hard Manchester United fan and I bought a box at Old Trafford for a season. But then I went to see the local club Chesterfield play, and the atmosphere blew me away. Now, I sponsor a stand at the ground each year. I bought two pubs in the village and launched a children’s charity. I wanted to give something back to the community I love.’

Jane Cunningham, 54 , won £7,544,200 in December 2008. She lives with husband Mark, 48, near York.

She says: ‘Days before we won, Mark and I went to a wedding. That night we sat in our hotel room and ate the only dinner we could afford – prawn cocktail crisps and pickled eggs from Asda. I have five children and Mark has two from previous relationships, and we lived in a two-bedroom end of terrace with no garden. The older children had to sleep on sofas downstairs. I chose the same combinations of birthdays every week, plus the number 33. My dad died when I was 12, but 33 had been his ‘lucky’ number so I like to think he was looking after me. Mark and I married six months after our win. We bought a 30-foot motorhome and moved into a five-bedroom detached house.’

Bigger homes: Karen Child, pictured left, was living in a three-bedroom council house when she won. Right: Brian and Joan Caswell celebrate

Brian Caswell, 72, won a EuroMillions jackpot of £24,951,269 in June 2009. He lives in a five-bedroom detached home in Bolton with wife Joan, 78.

He says: ‘We were living in a three-bedroom Semi in Bolton when we won, and six weeks later we went house hunting. Our two daughters came with us and the first house wasn’t right for my wife and me, but one daughter loved it. My other daughter declared the second house was was the house of her dreams. My wife and I fell in love with the third house. So I bought all three houses in one day. Now, our daughters and grandchildren live within five minutes and every Friday we all get together for dinner. The Lottery bought our family closer. You can’t put a price on that.’

Lucky: Gareth Bull, pictured with wife Catherine after his win, was a self-employed builder and only bought his winning ticket because a job was delayed

Sharon Mather, 43, won £12,408,000 on EuroMillions in June 2010. She lives with husband Nigel, 48, and their two sons in a five-bedroom detached house in Bowden, Cheshire.

She says: ‘We were on holiday at a caravan park in Minehead when we bought our winning Lucky Dip ticket. We both gave up work and bought shares in three racehorses and nice cars. In fact, my first purchase after winning was a Peugeot 207 – because I’d owned a 206, and had yearned for a 207 for years!’

Elouise Heard, 22, was working in the Co-op when she won £1,346,840 in December 2011 aged just 19. She shares a four-bedroom home in Colchester with husband David, 28.

She says: ‘I’m very down to earth. When I won, I was dating David and we celebrated with dinner at the local pub. My first spend came the next day, when I took my dog Maisy to the vet and paid for her treatment. It was hardly very glamorous! My first gift to myself was an iPad, but the money did pay for our wedding and a dream honeymoon across America earlier this year. I worked for four months at the Co-Op after my win, and now I have launched my own mobile beauty business. My best buy, apart from the house, has been a dachshund puppy called Bella.’

Gareth Bull, 43, won the EuroMillions jackpot of £40,627,241 in January 2012. He lives in a four-bedroom detached house in Mansfield with wife Catherine, 37 and their two sons.

He says: ‘I was a self-employed builder and I only bought a Lottery ticket because a building job was delayed due to bad weather. I bought a new Range Rover Autobiography and a Mercedes 350, a villa in Tenerife and took our two young children on holiday to places like Mexico and Egypt. We’ve always worked hard but it’s been fantastic to be able to spend time doing things with our boys. We both volunteer at our local sports club to put something back.’

Emma Wildin, 30, won £1,000,000 in August 2013. She lives in Cinderford, Gloucestershire with her husband Philip, 32, and their two children.

She says: ‘I rang Philip at work and said: ‘I think I’ve won a million pounds on a scratch card’, and he didn’t believe me. It took some persuading to get him to come home! Two days later, I found three things I liked in a clothes shop. Instead of choosing just one, I could afford all of them – and it started to sink in that our lives would change. We bought two investment houses to rent out and have just purchased our dream five-bedroom home. I swapped my Peugeot for a Range Rover Evoque, and we celebrated New Year in Disneyland with the children. I am still in shock.’

Matt Myles, 28, won £1,000,000 in April 2014. He is single and lives in a three-bedroom house in Hereford.

He says: ‘When I found out I had won, I went my work where I was an electrical engineer, and immediately handed in my notice. Two days later, I was on the runway ready to fly to Bali. The Lottery money hadn’t cleared, so I had to borrow money from my dad. He said: ‘You’ve won the Lottery and you are still borrowing money off me!’ I flew seven friends to Bali, took my brother Pete to America and three of us flew to Brazil for the World Cup. I bought a second-hand Porsche and a two-bedroom house for £150,000 which I’m renovating.’

LUCKY NUMBERS: THE 20-YEAR HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL LOTTERY IN FACTS AND FIGURES

The first seven balls that fell into place in November 1994 were 30, 3, 5, 44, 14 and 22 - the bonus ball was 10.

On a television programme presented by Noel Edmonds, the lottery has created more than 3,600 millionaires and multimillionaires – and continues to create new ones at an average of six a week.

In its 20-year history, the National Lottery has paid out £53billion to winners from across the UK – and raised more than £32billion for good causes.

Roughly 85 per cent of National Lottery winners choose to remain anonymous.

The average lottery winner buys 4.5 new cars for either themselves or friends and family, while 10 per cent buy more than 10. Property is the most popular area for winners to spend their money on.

The largest unclaimed prize was from the EuroMillions draw on June 8 2012. A ticket worth £63,837,543.60 had been bought by a player in the Stevenage and Hitchin area. It is a world-record unclaimed prize.

Statistically, the most likely winning numbers (as in the most commonly drawn) are 38, 23, 31, 25, 43, 33 and 44.

Approximately 70 per cent of adults play the National Lottery on a regular basis .

The majority of winners (59 per cent) give up work whilst nearly one in five carried on working despite their big win. Unpaid voluntary work is undertaken by 31% of the winners and 7 per cent have helped in a care home or hospital.

Their spending has contributed almost £750 million to UK GDP and generated over £500 million in tax receipts for the UK Exchequer.