LUCKY DUCK...
THE landlord who scooped his pub’s third lottery win has generously promised to share out his good fortune with two regulars.
Ian Brooke, 43, said he went “leaping all over the house” when he learned of his £1million EuroMillions win.
But he also vowed to honour a “gentleman’s agreement” by giving pals Andrew Enefer and Rashad Own £125,000 each.
And as he celebrated with two other lucky regulars of The Mallard yesterday, Ian insisted: “I’ll win it again.”
Mallard punters David and Kathleen Long have already won the lottery raffle twice, and inspired Ian to start playing the EuroMillions after they first scooped £1million in July 2013.
They stunned pub mates again in March 2015 with another £1million win on the same EuroMillions game.
Now Ian, who has a son Adam, 18, and three stepdaughters, has joined the pair in the rich club – though the teetotal pub landlord toasted his good fortune with squash instead of champagne.
Asked how he has celebrated his win, the grandfather-of-two said: “I’ve not stopped working since it happened and I don’t drink, so I’ve just had an orange and pineapple Robinsons.
STRUGGLE
“I must be running the luckiest pub in the world. We can’t stop winning. Business is certainly better since news spread because I think everyone wants a bit of our luck to rub off on them.”
The Mirror reader joked: “I’m going to carry on buying tickets. If Dave and Kath can win it twice, why can’t I? I’m still one behind him now, though. Hopefully I can get two and go in front of him.”
For now, Ian hopes his win will give him a break. He said: “It comes at a great time, I’ve been working 100 hours a week. I’ve been working my arse off as the pub business has been a real struggle since the smoking ban.
“Now I want to cut back on my hours and put my feet up a bit. I still want to pull pints because it’s all I’ve ever done.”
He added: “I’m not surprised I won. I always told my family right back from when I was 10 that I’d be a millionaire.”
Ian scooped £1,064,820 on July 28 but found out 11 days later, after taking a handful of tickets to be checked at the Asda opposite his pub. He said: “I didn’t think I’d won because the numbers didn’t match. I didn’t look at the raffle number.” The cashier gave him a ticket back, as it was over the £400 they could pay out.
Ian said: “I just thought I’d won £1,000 or something. I went and watched the football then called to find out how much it was. I have to keep pinching myself.”
He plans to buy a small apartment in Benidorm, eastern Spain, and to sponsor his local football team Appleby and Frodingham FC with some new kit. Though son Adam, who was helping
I’ve been working 100 hours a week, now I want to cut back and put my feet up IAN BROOKE ON USING WIN TO EASE UP ON WORK AT THE PUB