The lucky lady, from Co. Wicklow, bought a ticket for the EuroMillions draw on Tuesday 20th September, but popped it away in her bag and forgot it was there for several weeks. She was later stunned to discover that she had scooped the top prize on the Irish supplementary game EuroMillions Plus, allowing her to come forward with her husband to collect the money.
“Himself had given me a collection of tickets to check in the shop," the winner, who has decided to stay anonymous, told Irish National Lottery officials. "I had them in my handbag for a few weeks. To think, I’d a ticket worth half a million Euro in my handbag! I didn’t get around to checking them until yesterday and got a message on the scanner to contact the National Lottery.”
EuroMillions Plus is one of many special draws that give ticket holders in different participating countries the opportunity to land other great prizes in addition to those available in the main EuroMillions game. A number of new games were launched last month as changes were made to EuroMillions, and in the UK there is now a Mega Week at the end of every month rather than just a Mega Friday.
Five UK players are guaranteed to win £1 million each in the Millionaire Maker game tonight in the first part of Mega Week, before the inaugural European Millionaire Maker on Friday. You can use the EuroMillions Checker to take a look back at all the winning numbers and Millionaire Maker codes from the last 180 days and make sure you haven’t missed out on a prize.
It is estimated that tens of millions of pounds in prizes go unclaimed every year, so it is essential to keep your tickets safe and then check to see if you have won. Entering the game online ensures that your ticket will be stored securely and automatically checked, saving you the job of having to rummage through a handbag or old pile of papers.
Whether you wish to play online or visit an authorised retailer, it could just be that you manage to win a EuroMillions prize this evening. Good luck!