The Tipp town where there’s a Lotto luck...
Thurles racks up lottery wins of €9m
IF you’re a regular Lotto player and looking for a bit of luck, a top tip would be to head to Tipp... for Thurles is fast becoming Ireland’s luckiest town.
In the past six months alone, the Tipperary town – with a population of just over 8,000 people – has racked up lottery wins totalling almost €9million in prize money.
And on Saturday there was another local win in the town – with a ticket winning its lucky owner €250,000 in Saturday night’s Lotto Plus 1 draw.
The National Lottery was yesterday advising Lotto players in Thurles to check their tickets after the latest windfall.
The Quick Pick ticket was bought at the Centra store in Stradavoher in Thurles on the day of the draw. The winning numbers were: 10, 11, 26, 31, 40, 42 and the bonus was 9.
It has been an incredibly lucky six months for National Lottery players in Thurles with Lotto, scratch card and Winning Streak TV gameshow players sharing almost €9million in prizes.
In November, a syndicate from Thurles claimed a Lotto jackpot worth more than €7.5million. Other recent wins included a €500,000 Lotto Plus 1 win in December while there were also two separate scratch card wins of €250,000 and €100,000.
Eugene Dwyer, the owner of the Centra store in Stradavoher, which sold Saturday night’s winning ticket, said he and his colleagues were ‘over the moon’.
‘This is our first big Lotto win and what a win it is for our customers,’ he said. ‘I was a bit hesitant when I got the call to tell me about the win – it is April Fool’s, after all. I think some of our customers think we’re codding but we are strongly appealing to anybody who was in the store on Saturday to check their tickets to see if they are a quarter of a million richer.’
Mr Dwyer added that the recent Lotto wins in Thurles have created ‘a proper buzz about the place’.
Other lucky winners in Saturday night’s Lotto draws included three winners of the Match 5 + bonus prize, who each won €36,364.
Meanwhile, winning Quick Pick tickets were sold at the JR Porter Store on Paul Street in Co. Cork, Dunnes Stores on Henry Street in Limerick City, and on the National Lottery’s website.
A Thurles syndicate that claimed their €7,545,870 last November bought their ticket on October 24 at the Eason store in Thurles Shopping Centre. The syndicate member who had been tasked with minding the ticket kept it tucked away in a book for five days before plucking up the courage to confirm the winning numbers.
As the syndicate collected their winnings, one of the members said they wanted their win to be a legacy for their families to help future generations.
A €500,000 Lotto Plus 1 win was scooped up in December by a Tipperary family who all chipped in to purchase their ticket.
Centra owner Mr Dwyer said: ‘All the wins have been great for the town. We wish the winner every best of luck with their new-found fortune.’
‘I thought it was an April Fool’s trick’