Laundry Assistant Cleans Up!
Last Updated: Tuesday 4th March 2014, 13:24
A laundry assistant from Gwent has cleaned up in great style by winning a quarter share of the £4,586,968 Lotto jackpot on Saturday 28 April.
Joanne Gilbert, who is 47 years of age and has worked in the laundry department of Llanfrechfa Grange Hospital for the past 23 years, has played the same set of numbers ever since the National Lottery was launched in November 1994.
It was this familiar set of numbers that made Joanne £1,146,742 richer in the middle of a holiday at her caravan with her five year old grandson Rhys. She had just put Rhys to bed and turned on the television to see the Lotto draw unfolding live.
"The Lotto draw was happening on the TV, so I decided to get a pen and paper to check the numbers," Joanne said. "All of a sudden I realised I'd written down all six of my regular numbers.
"I know them off by heart, as I've been playing with those numbers since the lottery started - I chose them from a mixture of family birthdays. I play without fail every single week, even if it's the last pound coin in my purse."
Clearly, Joanne's persistence paid off, but the fact that she had hit the jackpot didn't sink in immediately by any means: "I went to see my friends Kay and Tony who stay in the caravan pitch next to mine," Joanne said, "and we all just stood there looking at the ticket in disbelief.
"The win still hasn't sunk in, and I'll need to think very carefully about what I want to do with the money, but one thing that has always been at the top of my list is a trip to Disneyland in America - I'm a big kid really. My mum and dad are so pleased and excited for me, the whole thing is just unbelievable."