£100,000 windfall a tonic for hospital syndicate
A GROUP of hospital workers from Swansea are jumping for joy after scooping more than £100,000 in the Euromillions lottery.
The 53-strong syndicate, made up of staff at Morriston Hospital, were lucky enough to have bought a ticket that matched five main numbers and one Lucky Star in the Euromillions draw on Friday, October 8.
Thanks to the one winning ticket among the syndicate, every single member of the group will now take home an equal share of the winnings: £2,227.26 each.
Whilst the group regularly bought tickets for the Lotto, they didn’t often buy tickets for the Euromillions, syndicate leader and pharmacy technician at the hospital, Kim Owen said.
But the syndicate decided to enter the Euromillions lottery on this occasion as the prize money was “so high”.
Kim said: “We don’t always play Euromillions but because the jackpot has been so high, we thought it was worth a try as the prizes would be big enough for us to share.
“I usually end up buying the tickets as and when but on the day of this draw, I decided I was going to wait and buy all the tickets at once. I felt like doing something a bit different might bring us a bit of luck and I was right!
“I checked the numbers on Friday night straight after the draw and I just couldn’t believe it. I asked my husband to triple check the ticket and as soon as I was sure it was true, I tried to call a few people to share the good news. Because it was late, no-one picked up, so I put it on the Whatsapp group instead.
“People were so excited and there were others, like me, who just couldn’t sleep so my phone was going off with messages throughout the night!”
The syndicate is predominantly made up of staff in the pharmacy department at the hospital who are said to get on really well with each other and have given themselves the fitting nickname, The Pharmily Crew.
After a challenging 18 months working on the frontline during the pandemic, the Euromillions win has helped lift all the syndicate members’ spirits, according to Kim.
She said: “It has been a scary time for all of us and for us to share this win after having all faced the same challenges, makes it extra special. I hope we’ll be able to do something together to celebrate but we’ll see, people come from all over to work in the hospital so it’s tricky to get everyone in the same place at the same time, especially at the moment.
“This is a lovely amount to win and hopefully it will come in handy for lots of people. After the past few years, I will definitely be putting the money towards a holiday.”