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A couple who won a Lotto jackpot worth £2,561,750
found it very easy to keep their win a secret
for more than a month, because even they didn't
realise that they'd won themselves!
Lynn and Terry Patience from Barking in Essex
matched all six numbers to win the National
Lottery jackpot on February 7, 2007. Then, several
weeks later, the National Lottery organisers
launched a publicity campaign in their area
to tell people that the jackpot still hadn't
been claimed, and to encourage Lotto players
to check their old tickets. Their daughter heard
about this on the radio and passed the message
onto Lynn, who knew that her husband kept their
lottery tickets in a drawer and only checked
the numbers occasionally.
"Our daughter knows what Terry is like
with the Lotto tickets," Lynn said, "so
when she heard about the missing ticket on the
radio she was on the phone saying we should
check our tickets because we might have won
the jackpot. When Terry took them into Thames
View Post Office I just had a feeling it might
be us. I could not believe it when Terry called
me from the shop to say we had won - everything
has been a blur since!"
Lynn and Terry, who are both West Ham fans,
celebrated their win with champagne at Upton
Park. "Whenever there is something on the
news about missing winners I often say at work
how I could be a millionaire and not know it,
and now I really am," Lynn said. "We
still can't believe it."
Having been secret millionaires for over a
month, Lynn and Terry are now making plans to
spend their money wisely. At the top of their
shopping list is taking care of their family,
followed by the purchase of a new home and possibly
a villa in Spain. There will also be plenty
of trips for their children and grandchildren
(all fans of West Ham) to see their favourite
team play at Upton Park.
The numbers that won Lynn and Terry more than
£2.5million were based on family birthdays
and had been played every Wednesday and Saturday
for twelve years, thus proving that patience
pays - at least for Mr and Mr Patience!
13 March, 2007
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