National Lottery Celebrates Creating 358 Lottery Millionaires in 2017
Last Updated: Thursday 24th September 2020, 10:40
The National Lottery has released a series of figures detailing its performance in 2017, revealing that it created 358 lottery millionaires, who shared a gigantic £796 million, during the 12 months. These big wins helped the organisation smash through the £65 billion barrier in terms of prizes distributed since its inception in 1994.
Big Lottery Winners in 2017
In total, 782 players won more than £50,000 from games such as EuroMillions, Lotto and Thunderball. Notable winners from 2017 included Bev Doran of Shipley in West Yorkshire, who scooped £14.5 million on EuroMillions in February. The 37-year-old had been living on benefits after quitting work two years previously to look after her autistic children.
A pair of Lotto winners picked up their £15.3 million prize on the same day that Bev received her oversized cheque. Lorraine Smith and Paula Barraclough of Tyne and Wear, known as Polly and Lolly, matched all six numbers in January and pledged to jet off to Las Vegas together with the proceeds.
In November, a group of catering staff from Neath Port Talbot Hospital shared a £25.4 million EuroMillions jackpot, the seventh won in the UK in 2017. The Catering Girls, as they called themselves, promptly quit their jobs and told reporters they would spend the winnings on holidays, cars and, for one member of the syndicate, a super-sized wedding.
Lucky Lottery Players
The Welsh syndicate were perhaps destined for success, as it was revealed that catering was 2017’s luckiest lottery profession. Those born around the turn of the year also found themselves quids-in, with Capricorn announced as the luckiest star sign during the past 12 months.
Lottery Good Causes in 2017
2017 saw the 525,000th Good Causes grant awarded in the UK since the lottery began. In addition, athletes that have benefited from National Lottery funding picked up 45 medals at the 2017 London World Athletics and World ParaAthletics Championships and proceeds from players helped to fund places for 28 trainees to work on Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was filmed in part in the UK.
Lottery Plans for 2018
As the National Lottery looks to grow in 2018, there are a number of changes set to take place. Thunderball will add a fourth weekly draw from Tuesday 30th January and EuroMillions HotPicks will offer a different way to win using the main EuroMillions numbers from Friday 26th January.
If you want to start 2018 as a lottery winner, you can pick your EuroMillions numbers or take part in Lotto and Thunderball at the Lottery Tickets page. Good luck!
