Lucky winner scoops £1million lottery prize (From Dorset Echo)
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Lucky winner scoops £1million lottery prize
11:00am Thursday 3rd January 2013 in News
LEND US A TENNER: Aaron Smith who scooped a £1,000,000 prize in the Christmas day EuroMillions lottery draw with his partner Becky and brother Will
A MOMENT of Christmas Day high jinks proved uncannily prophetic for one lucky punter who scooped a £1million EuroMillions jackpot.
Swanage man Aaron Smith came up trumps in the millionaire super raffle after posing for a light-hearted ‘lottery winner’ photo with his brother just hours earlier.
The 40-year-old, who went public with his win alongside friends and family yesterday, explained: “We’d gone to my brother’s house in Poole for Christmas Day.
“We’d all got dressed up for Christmas dinner as it was a special festive occasion and, because we also had champagne and I had my EuroMillions ticket with me, we had a bit of fun by pretending to be winners.”
Aaron and brother Will took some cheeky snaps and even posted them on Facebook. Little did they know they would soon by spraying the champagne for real.
“Back home that night it was amazing to see my numbers come up,” said Aaron.
“I was checking my ticket on the internet and the numbers got progressively closer to the ones on my ticket. It was actually the last raffle number that did it.”
Before checking that last number, Aaron even joked to partner Becky Travers how they still had a one in 30million chance of winning.
“It was a massive shock.
“I couldn't believe it. I had to verify it at least 10 times,” he said.
“Me and Becky both screamed and had a little dance when we realised we’d won.”
Aaron, who works at a Bournemouth financial services company, bought the lottery ticket at Martin’s Newsagents, Swanage, on a last-minute Christmas Eve shopping trip.
He plans to share his good fortune with close relatives.
Brother Will, a Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer, said he was delighted to have played a part in his brother’s good fortune.
“When he called later on Christmas Day he could barely talk,” said Will.
“He’s always said he’s going to be a millionaire. Dad always said he’d come out of a drain smelling of roses, but this has been unbelievable.”
