British Grandparents Celebrate Lottery Win With A Cup Of Tea Before Going To Bed
Most people hope they will someday win the lottery, and have a plan for how they will celebrate their sudden windfall and what they will be spending their money on. But most people’s immediate reaction would to be to enjoy a quiet cup of tea and then head straight to bed.
That was the reaction of Northern Irish grandparents Frances and Patrick Connolly, from County Armagh, when they got to ring in the new year with the news that they had won a whopping £115 million (approximately $146 million) in the EuroMillions jackpot, according to a report by Unilad.
The couple discovered their incredible win on New Year’s Day. They had bought a Lucky Dip online without expecting anything to come of it. After the winning numbers were released, they were shocked to discover that it matched their ticket almost perfectly, even going so far as to double check on several different websites that the numbers were correct.
The couple’s ticket matched five numbers in the EuroMillions draw, and also two of the Lucky Stars numbers.
Still not convinced that they had won, instead of celebrating with a glass of bubbly and phoning everyone they’d ever met, they simply drank their tea together and tucked in for the night.
It was only the next day that the Connollys phoned Camelot to check if they had indeed been the jackpot winners.
When you see the cheque for the first time!
Meet Frances and Patrick Connolly, our £114.9M #EuroMillions WINNERS!! pic.twitter.com/UQxdd4gtxv
— The National Lottery (@TNLUK) January 4, 2019
After confirming the news to the couple, Frances and Patrick spoke on Friday at a press conference about their astounding win, with Patrick recalling their reaction upon checking their numbers.
“We really didn’t know what to do or how to react and we didn’t sleep a wink that night. We rang Camelot at 8 am in the morning to verify the win. Then it started to dawn on us that it was true even though it still hasn’t really sunk in.”
“We don’t really do excited – perhaps I raised my voice just a bit at the time when I found out – but we celebrated with a cup of tea and a hug,” his wife added.
Despite being regular lottery players, the couple said that “never in their wildest dreams” had they expected to win the jackpot one day. The Connollys also don’t have a specific wish list for the money yet, but it seems a shopping spree is not in the cards. Frances and Patrick appear to have a charitable streak, and have earmarked approximately 50 people who will benefit from the money instead.
“This is a massive sum of money and we want it to have a huge impact on the lives of other people we know and love as well as on our future too,” Frances explained. “This win gives us the chance to really make a difference for our family and friends.”
Apparently, the couple has not yet told the beneficiaries about the generous donation they are about to receive.
