Thunderball Hits Wales
Last Updated: Friday 4th June 2010, 11:10
A Thunderball jackpot of £250,000 has been won by a grandmother in Gwent, South Wales. Eileen Jones, who is 68 years old and has eight grandchildren, matched all five main numbers (2, 7, 11, 30 and 33) and the Thunderball (8) on Saturday 3 May.
Eileen didn’t realise that she had successfully beaten odds of 1 in 3,895,584 until after the extended “Bank holiday” weekend in the UK, when she flicked on teletext to check her numbers.
“I had to check the numbers over and over again, because I didn’t believe it could be right,” Eileen explained. “I phoned my two sons, Glyn and Robert, and they came over straight away to double check the numbers for me. I am still in shock!
Eileen’s husband passed away eleven years ago, and as her children are well into adulthood, she has lived alone for some time.
“I can’t believe I have won this sort of money – my late husband was a miner and I worked in a factory. We always got by and had the odd holiday but I never dreamed I would have this much. When my husband died, I had to sell our house and have since moved to a council flat. Now I’ve got £250,000, I can’t wait to buy a house of my own. I want my own front door again!”
Wales is becoming a particularly lucky country as far as UK National Lottery games are concerned. Over the last couple of years six other players have won substantial sums. For example, in April 2007 a player named Jennifer Southall, who lives in Newport, won a staggering £8,372,751. Whilst Eileen’s win isn’t nearly that big, her quarter of a million pound will have a tremendously positive impact on her life.