Winners Round up – September 2023
September proved to be a truly life-changing month for National Lottery players nationwide including two players who became overnight millionaires!
Compiled from National Lottery claims data with all prizes totaling 15,000 and above. 10,000 and above for online winners. This may include more than one prize won on an individual ticket.
Lotto
An online Lotto player in Dublin got their month off to a memorable start after scooping €250,000 in the Lotto Plus 2 draw on Saturday 2nd September. The online player won the top prize amount after purchasing their winning ticket online or through the National Lottery App.
The Dublin player, who waited just over a week to pick up his winnings, admitted he was in disbelief initially when he got the notification about the win.
“I saw the email telling me that I had won so I logged into the app to take a look. When I saw that my balance was still the same, I was thinking that maybe because it was a weekend, the app might not have updated. I decided to check the ticket itself just in case I was missing something and there it was in big green writing - €250,000! When I saw it first, I read it as €2,500 but then I kept looking and it finally sunk in that it was actually €250,000.”
The top prize winner admitted that he does not always buy his tickets online but was certainly delighted that he decided to this time.
“I sometimes buy my tickets online but I do enjoy buying them in the shop. I usually take my time to even check my tickets as I quite like hearing if a winning ticket might have been sold in the shop where I have bought mine – at least then I can hope and dream that I’m still in with a chance of being the winner. This time there was no need for dreaming!”
The Dublin winner plans to take his time to decide what to do with his recent windfall.
On 13th September, it was an online player in Kerry celebrating becoming the biggest winner of the night in the midweek draw. The Lotto player in the Kingdom became the 28th National Lottery millionaire of 2023 after winning the top prize of €1 million in the Wednesday night Lotto Plus 1 draw.
While collecting his cheque in Lotto HQ, the Kerry winner spoke about how he was looking forward to treating his family with his new fortune and explained the shock he got when he logged into his online account.
“I saw the email on my phone telling me to check my ticket while I was out and about. I looked at it and was in total shock – I then had to drive home and I swear I almost crashed the car! As soon as I got in the door, I went in to tell my wife and show her the phone. Of course, it’s my own fault that she didn’t believe me straight away because I am such a messer and would totally pretend that I’d won – but this time there was no joking! She eventually took the phone and checked the ticket while I called out the numbers. It was only then that she believed me and the two of us were sat there counting the zeros making sure it was definitely real,” he said.
“I was on to the Claims Department first thing the following Monday to confirm the win. Part of me had worried that my phone had been hacked and it was a horrible trick being played! I was delighted to hear that it was definitely real.”
The online winner admitted that having the ticket in his online account saved him a lot of worry over the past two weeks: “I’m so glad I played online because I’m not sure that I’d be able for the pressure of minding a physical ticket. It was a long two weeks getting organized for our trip up here to pick up the cheque so I can only imagine what I’d be like with keeping a ticket safe on top of that. I am thrilled to finally have the cheque in my hand and to make plans with the family for what we’ll do. Looking at houses and planning for our future is most definitely top of the list – the timing is perfect!”
Two weeks later, a Dublin player won the Lotto Plus 1 top prize to take the title of 29th National Lottery millionaire of the year. The Dublin ticketholder won their €1 million prize in the Wednesday 27th September draw after purchasing their winning ticket at the Spar store in St Agnes Park in Crumlin, Dublin 12.
The winner admitted that he did not realise he had a winning ticket for almost a week after the draw.
“It was the following Monday before I even thought of checking my ticket. I was getting something out of the car and saw my ticket there so just decided to scan it on the app. At that stage, I didn’t even know that there had been a top prize win so I wasn’t expecting anything until the message ‘You’ve won Big!’ popped up on the screen. I gave the Claims Department a call then to see what it could be. When I heard that I had won €1 million, I was absolutely speechless. That was definitely not how I saw that call going!”
The Dublin winner intends on putting his newfound fortune to good use.
“Clearing my mortgage is the top of the priority list. I can’t believe I’m now in a position to even be able to do that. It’s an absolute dream come true!”
EuroMillions
An online player in Tipperary was celebrating after matching five numbers in the EuroMillions draw on Friday 15th September to win €23,184.
A week later on 22nd September, another online player in Kildare had similar luck after matching five numbers in the Friday night draw to win €31,848.
A Dublin player won the biggest EuroMillions prize of the month just a few days later in the Tuesday 26th September draw. The player in the Capital won the top prize of €500,000 in the EuroMillions Plus draw after purchasing their winning ticket at Dunnes Stores in the Northside Shopping Centre on the Oscar Traynor Road in Dublin 17.
Telly Bingo
Throughout the month, the Snowball prize was won by three players with the first win happening on Tuesday 5th September. A Dublin player scooped €50,010 after purchasing their winning ticket at the Spar shop at 99A/101 on the New Cabra Road in Dublin 7.
It was a Tuesday afternoon to remember on 26th September for two Telly Bingo players in Kildare and Westmeath who shared the astonishing €100,000 Snowball prize on offer.
Over the preceding two weeks, anticipation had been building in the Telly Bingo game as the Snowball prize continued to roll. On Tuesday 12th September, the National Lottery added €40,000 to the Snowball prize fund for the Super September Snowball promotion and as there was no Snowball winner since then, the prize continued to roll.
The Kildare winner scooped €50,120, which included an XCross prize in addition to the Snowball, after purchasing their ticket at Donovan’s Centra in Greenfields Shopping Centre in Maynooth. The Westmeath player won their €50,000 share of the Snowball, as well as a €5 lucky line prize, after purchasing their ticket at Dunnes Stores in Irishtown, Athlone.
Scratch Cards
Across the month, 7 Scratch Card players shared a total of €245,000 in prizes. A Dublin player celebrated the biggest Scratch Card win of the month after scooping the top prize of €100,000 on a €5 Money Multiplier Scratch Card. The winning Scratch Card was purchased at the Applegreen on Ballymount Avenue in the M50 Business Park, Ballymount, Dublin 12. Other top prize wins included a Longford player who enjoyed a €30,000 win on a €3 All Cash Tripler Scratch Card which they purchased at the Centra shop on the Longford Road in Drumlish. Meanwhile, a Tipperary player also won a top prize amount of €30,000 on a €3 Cashword Doubler Scratch Card after purchasing their winning ticket at Old Bridges Stores in Clonmel.