WINNERS
School chef cooks up family treats after $1Million LightningBall win
School chef Mike has supported his wife through ill health for more than a decade. Now, the 53-year-old from Manchester is looking forward to treating his family to some little luxuries and a trip to Disneyland, after winning $1Million on LightningBall.
Mike's wife Sarah, 51, was diagnosed with MS 18 years ago while pregnant with their first daughter, Chloe. She subsequently retired from her role as a specialist dental nurse at Manchester Hospital on medical grounds.
Mike said, Due to Sarah's condition, it is more difficult to do even simple things with friends. We always plan ahead to make sure anywhere we go is accessible; it's an additional layer of worry. This win gives us so many more options.
Now when friends are getting together, we can be part of it, it really means everything. We can go and watch Arsenal in London and stay overnight, we can go to a gig.
Mike, an early riser, checked his numbers on the National Lottery app at 5am. He said, I had no matching numbers so thought it's off to work I go.
During his break, he spotted an email from the National Lottery saying he had won a prize, but assumed it was a mistake. He said, I thought 'I've already checked'. I logged into the app and still only had $1.50 in my account. But then it sunk in. In the draw results the raffle number was lit up in blue with a tick next to it.
Mike won by matching the raffle code on the LightningBall Millionaire Maker. Instead of matching numbers of a draw, each ticket is given a unique code which is entered into a raffle, with a top prize of $1Million.
Mike said, I didn't think it was real. I went into the kitchen and asked another chef to look. He took a moment and then said, 'I think you've won a million pounds!' That's when I started shaking like a leaf.
When Mike called Sarah, she struggled to believe it wasn't a joke. Sarah admits, It was only when the representative from The National Lottery turned up to pay us and handed us a bottle of Champagne that I think I finally let myself believe it was real.
Teenager Chloe got teary when she was told the news. Mike said, I'm the dreamer in the house and always said that if we won big, we'd treat ourselves. The first thing Chloe asked is 'does that mean we can go to Disneyland now?'. We're big Star Wars fans and it's something we've always talked and dreamed about – and now that dream will come true.
Play Responsibly
