Forgetting his glasses really pays off for Denis with £116k lottery win
A COUPLE from Derbyshire who scooped more than £116,000 on the EuroMillions have big plans for how they will spend the money.
The retired couple are now planning a house and garden makeover after scooping £116,124.40 by matching the five main numbers and one Lucky Star number in the EuroMillions on March 16.
However, it might have all been very different if Denis Fawsitt had not forgotten his glasses when buying his ticket.
The 80-year-old was buying his regular weekly EuroMillions ticket and would normally use family birthdays for his numbers but, because he had forgotten his glasses and could not see the play slip properly, he asked shop staff for a Lucky Dip instead.
This lucky piece of forgetfulness meant that he and wife, Ann, 75, are now £116,124 richer and can treat themselves to a house and garden makeover.
Mr Fawsitt said: “I realised I had forgotten my glasses and tried to pick my numbers, but I just couldn’t.
I went to pay for my papers and asked the lady behind the counter for a Lucky Dip. It turned out to be one of my best decisions ever.”
He went on: “After what happened in the newsagent, I had this funny feeling we were going to win. I said to my wife Ann that evening that I felt we were going to win big.”
The next morning Mr Fawsitt went to get his daily newspapers and asked staff to check his ticket. They told him he had to call Camelot because he had won a large amount of money. Disbelieving, Mr Fawsitt called his daughter Sally as soon as he got home, asking her to pop in on her way to work to check the ticket for him.
He said: “I always go early for my papers, around 7.15am. When I called Sally she thought I was being silly and had probably got things mixed up, especially as I told her I had forgotten my glasses.
“But I was right, I had won but because it was still only 7.30am we had to wait until the National Lottery hotline opened at 9am to call and check. Sally went to work and explained to her boss that she needed to pop back for a family emergency at 9am. She came back as planned, called the National Lottery people and we all went into shock upon hearing the news.”
However, there was no dancing around the house or champagne corks popping for the lucky couple to celebrate their new-found fortune. Mrs Fawsitt said: “Not at our age, especially with Denis’s bad back. Denis had a drop of whisky and I had a small sherry. We then put the lucky winning ticket in the living room cabinet for safekeeping before the people from the National Lottery were able to validate the ticket.
“When the win was confirmed, we did have a glass or two of fizz, and when this horrible Covid has gone away and it’s safe we’ll have a big family party to celebrate.”
In the meantime, the couple are planning a house and garden makeover.
Mr Fawsitt said: “I hurt my back a few years ago so I haven’t been able to tend to my garden as much as I would have liked. With a bit of landscaping, Ann and I can enjoy our garden even more, especially as the summer is not too far away.”
Inside the house, Mrs Fawsitt wants to decorate and refresh many of their rooms. She is also looking to get a new electric cooker and a new foam mattress. Mr Fawsitt has his eyes on a new TV.
Mrs Fawsitt said: “This win means that we now don’t have to worry about money. We can treat ourselves to a few nice things but, mostly importantly, give a lot to the family. We’ve had our time, it’s theirs now. This money will help them more than us.”
Asked if he will continue with birthdays or Lucky Dips when picking his lottery numbers, Mr Fawsitt said: “I still play every week and even though I won without my glasses, I make sure I take them now as I am back to playing with family birthday dates.”
Mr Fawsitt is a retired builder and coal miner. Mrs Fawsitt used to work at KP Snacks in Ashby. They have two daughters, Sally and Sharon, two grandsons and a granddaughter.
The couple play EuroMillions every week and always buy their tickets from the Co-operative, in Station Road, Hatton. The winning EuroMillions numbers for the draw on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, were 23, 25, 32, 35, 47 and the two Lucky Stars numbers were 2 and 6.
By playing any National Lottery game, players help to raise an average of £30 million every week for National Lottery Good Causes across the UK.
I asked the lady behind the counter for a Lucky Dip. It turned out to be one of my best decisions ever. Denis Fawsitt