Chef To Taste High Life After Lotto Jackpot Win
By admin
Issued on behalf of the National Lottery
A chef is celebrating an extra-large serving of lottery luck – and is looking forward to enjoying an à la carte lifestyle – after winning the whopping £4,986,272 Lotto jackpot last Saturday (18 August 2007).
Paul Hardware (51) and his wife, Denise (46), who both grew up in Cardiff and now live in Street in Somerset, claimed their Lotto jackpot win after a run of luck earlier in the week. Paul, who works at the Piper’s Inn in Ascot, Somerset, left Cardiff to find work at the age of 16.
Since moving to Somerset, he is still a regular visitor to Wales and is a big Welsh rugby fan. Paul will definitely be using some of his winnings to watch the Welsh kick off their Rugby World Cup campaign next month. He and Denise also plan to buy a new house in Street – as well as looking after their son, Matthew (20).
Paul explained: “I was leaving the snooker hall with my son Matthew a couple of weeks ago and saw the first star in the sky. I decided, for a laugh, to follow the tradition and make a wish so I wished to win the lottery. Since then I have had a real run of luck. I put £1 on last Wednesday’s Lotto draw and won £10. I then found a £10 note in the street and then on Saturday I hit the jackpot – I can’t believe it.”
Paul added: “It’s a big relief to be able to pay off the mortgage, but we will definitely look round for a new property. We already have an idea of the house that we fancy. We will also be booking a few holidays – I really don’t mind where it is as long as it’s hot and sunny.”
The winning Lotto ticket, which was a Lucky Dip®, was bought at Sainsbury’s in Street. The winning Lotto numbers on Saturday night were 2, 12, 26, 32, 37 and 47.
Tomorrow (Wednesday 22 August), the Lotto jackpot is an estimated £2.5 million, while this Friday’s (24 August) EuroMillions Rollover jackpot is an estimated £18 million. Every Lotto play slip now comes with its own Dream Number – it is up to players to mark ‘yes’ to give their Dream Number its chance of winning up to £500,000, or choose a Lucky Dip.
