Tesco Syndicate Win
Last Updated: Wednesday 7th August 2013, 15:57
A syndicate of ten Tesco store checkout workers are queuing up to celebrate after scooping a £7.5 million share of the Lotto Superdraw jackpot drawn on the recent National Lottery Day, 23 September.
The syndicate members, who usually spend their working hours serving supermarket shoppers, are now busy writing shopping lists of their own. But these shopping lists are much more ambitious than those of the average person, and include new cars, luxury holidays, replacement kitchens, paying off the mortgage and making cash gifts to children and grandchildren.
Avis King, who leads the lottery syndicate, said: "We're all still in shock and everything feels a bit surreal at the moment. When I found out we'd won on Sunday I was just shaking from head to toe - I still haven't come down to earth yet. We have been playing together as a syndicate but this is our biggest win so far!"
One thing that isn't on any of the shopping lists right now is a permanent break from working at the Tesco store, because the group of lottery players are good friends as well as colleagues and they enjoy working together. As syndicate member Brenda Cleverley put it: "We all love our jobs and have many wonderful customers so we all feel we would be missing out if we decided to give it up."
Another syndicate member, Shelagh Matthews, agreed with this comment, saying: "Since the news broke that we won all our customers and workmates have been coming up, congratulating us and commenting that this couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people - that means a lot to us."
The motto of the Tesco chain of supermarkets is "every little helps", so the ten-strong syndicate are very aware that £7.5 million will help a great deal. Commenting on their new-found wealth, syndicate member Hilary Cox said: "It's a lovely position to be in. I know between us we have lots of grandchildren and we are all going to be able to help our families."
Fittingly, the winning ticket was purchased from the Tesco store in Sudbury.