An early Christmas surprise for Lotto player in Dublin 7 who just became Ireland’s newest Millionaire!

It was a night of festive cheer and celebration for one Lotto player in Dublin 7 following Saturday night’s special Lotto Plus Raffle.

The Lotto Plus Raffle typically sees between 60 and 120 winners of €500 in every draw but in last night’s draw, the National Lottery boosted the Raffle prize fund with a guaranteed to be won €1 Million.

The winning Raffle number was: 8897   Each of the tickets with the winning Lotto Plus Raffle number drawn in Saturday night’s draw were entered into a once-off draw, where one ticket was selected at random to win an additional prize of €1 million, as well as the usual €500 Raffle prize.

The winning Quick Pick ticket was purchased on Friday 19th December at the Spar store at Unit 62-65 on Mountjoy Street in Dublin 7.

Store manager Dean Bheemul was delighted to hear the news that his store sold the winning ticket.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have sold a winning Lotto Plus Raffle ticket here on Mountjoy Street, and just in time for Christmas! It’s great news and we’re all buzzing here in the store. We would like to wish the winner the very best and every happiness for the future!”

Meanwhile, two players in Monaghan and Louth matched five numbers and the bonus in the main draw on Saturday night to share €50,573. The Monaghan winner purchased their Quick Pick ticket on the day of the draw at McMahon’s Centra on the Main Street in Castleblayney to win their €25,287 amount while the Louth winner scooped their share of the Match 5 + Bonus prize after purchasing their ticket on the day of the draw at the Londis Top Shop in Ravensdale, Dundalk.

The winning numbers in the Saturday 20th December draw were: 03, 15, 18, 20, 27, 43 and the bonus was 30.

National Lottery spokesperson Sarah Orr said: “What a way to get Christmas week started! The Dublin, Monaghan and Louth winners, who were the largest winners from the weekend draw, are advised to sign the back of their tickets and keep them safe. The winners should contact the National Lottery Prize Claims team on 1800 666 222 or email claims@lottery.ie and arrangements will be made for them to collect their prizes in Lottery Headquarters.”

“While over 87,000 players nationwide won prizes across Saturday night’s Lotto and Lotto Plus draws, including the Lotto Plus Raffle winner and the two Match 5+Bonus winners, there was no winner of the €3,401,640 Jackpot on offer. Wednesday’s Lotto Jackpot is now set to roll towards an estimated €3.8 Million.”

Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage and the Irish Language. In total, more than €6.5 Billion has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 37 years ago. In 2024 alone, €239.3 Million was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland.                  Play National Lottery games responsibly, play for fun.