With a life-changing £44 million (€60 million) on offer in this evening’s draw, just envisage what you could do with that kind of cash; you could live out your life in a spacious apartment overlooking the Mediterranean, or stay closer to home and buy your dream property in the countryside. Would you upgrade your TV, your car or your holidays?
In June 2010, Nigel and Sharon Mather realised the dream, landing a huge EuroMillions win and taking home a prize worth over £12.4 million. The couple from Sale, Greater Manchester, were holidaying at a caravan park in Somerset when they purchased the Lucky Dip ticket. It’s safe to say that they’ve been enjoying some rather more exotic holidays since. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Nigel explained how his epic year ended in style: “The first Christmas after we won was the first Christmas off I had ever had, so we took 18 people to Jamaica.”
As soon as the money was in their account, Sharon, who had been working part-time for Trafford Council, left her job. Nigel, on the other hand, continued to work, investing in several businesses.
It’s not all about investment for the avid Manchester City supporter, however. He has also bought a box at the Etihad stadium, as well as purchasing shares in three racehorses, all of which are trained at ex-footballer Michael Owen’s stables.
It wasn’t just Nigel and Sharon who benefited from the windfall. Following the death of Nigel’s niece from a rare form of bone-marrow cancer at the age of just 18, the couple had vowed to help the hospice where she had been treated. The EuroMillions win helped the pair remain true to their word.
Nowadays, the couple now live in a mammoth country house, with all the luxuries you can imagine. Nigel joked: “We said to the previous owners, if you leave the chandelier in we’ll buy the house, and they agreed.” Once every room in the house was redesigned to meet the family’s needs, the extravagant items began to roll in, including an aquarium, hot tub and top of the range cars.
Now, imagine what you could do with almost four times that amount of money! Would you sensibly invest it for the future, or go on an insane spending spree? Would you, like Nigel and Sharon, spare a thought for charity and those less fortunate than yourself?
If you wanted to have that £44 million all to yourself by the end of the evening, simply buy your EuroMillions ticket for a chance of winning tonight’s jackpot. You had better hurry, though, as sales close at 7.30pm GMT (8.30pm CET). Best of luck!