Tarbert Lotto syndicate miss out on £800,000 win

May 1992

A TARBERT-based Lotto syndicate has lost out on an £800,000 windfall because members decided not to play because the prize money was not big enough.

The ten member syndicate arc down £80,000 each because they opted to maintain their self-imposed rule of only playing Lotto when the prize money tops £l million.

Six numbers used by the syndicate were drawn in the Lotto Jackpot in the first week of May. £800,000 was the winning prize and there were no winners.

Meanwhile, a neighbour of the syndicate members, Denis Dee travelled to Dublin to collect his winnings of £415,000.

Tarbert father of three Denis Dee who won £415,(0) in the Lotto had his ticket rejected three times by the Lotto machine in Tarbert Post Office before it was included in the draw.

But a separate syndicate who work with Mr Dee at the ESB oil fired generating station in Tarbert could have scooped an £800,000 jackpot in an earlier draw, according to Tarbert Post Mistress Gabrielle Kiely.

“They won £5,000 at Christmas and then lately I asked them if they were going to play but they said they were not as it was only £S00,00 and sure didn’t their numbers come up,” she said.

Brendan O’ Donnell of Doonard Crescent in Tarbert was one of 10 in the syndicate whose numbers came up when they failed to play.

“We decided to play the Lotto only when the jackpot was a £1 million. Each member invested £13 and if we had to do it every week it would have cost us a fortune. We knew we were taking a gamble,” he explained.

Mr O’Donnell said they are continuing to play the same numbers since their near miss earlier this month. He said they knew they were taking a gamble not playing every week and had to live with that.

Denis Dee (44), a supervisor at the ESB’s oil fired electricity generating station in Tarbert, told The Kerryman that he was lucky on several counts that he eventually scooped the £415,000 half share of the latest £830,000 lotto jackpot.

Mr Dee said a neighbour asked his nine year-old son James to play the Lotto Me decided he better drive the youngster to Tarbert Post Office run by Senator Dan Kiely’s sister Gabrielle to play the Lotto.

“When I gave my ticket to Gabrielle it had seven numbers on one panel and I tore it up and did another one. Then the machine jammed and eventually it got through after failing three times,” a jubilant Mr Dee told The Kerryman.

Mr Dee is married to Mary Kissane from Tarbert and they live at 10 Tieraclea, Tarbert with their three children Celine 16. Denise 15 and James 9.

Tarbert Post Mistress Gabrielle Kiely, left, with Lotto winner Denis Dee and his wife Mary as they are pictured celebrating with locals in Tarbert.