'When I checked the email, I thought to myself that this can’t be right'

Family is main priority for Limerick's online Lotto player who claimed their €8.5 million jackpot prize.

The online player officially become a multi-millionaire after claiming their prize of €8,530,884 after they won the first Lotto jackpot of 2021 on Wednesday January 27.

The lucky winner who wishes to keep their win private says that they are still in total shock since their mega Lotto win over three weeks ago:

“When I checked the email, I thought to myself that this can’t be right. I was expecting it to be a €3 or a €6 win – not €8.5 million! I had to go out of the email and then back into it to make sure it was real before I checked the results over and over again. I still can’t believe it,” said the excited winner.

The Limerick winner will not let their €8.5 million go to their head and said that any spending plans will centre around family: “Once I found out that I had won the jackpot, I picked up the phone to let my family know but I didn’t know what to say. It was a surreal moment so I just blurted out, ‘Guess what, I won the Lotto!’ I still don’t think they believe me.”

“With social distancing, we haven’t been able to celebrate this incredible life-changing win. While it is such a mind-blowing sum of money, I won’t be getting carried away by going on any spending sprees just yet. I’m going to keep my head down for the next couple of months and pay off some bills and of course look after family. When the dust settles on Covid and we all have our vaccines, we will definitely be going on a big holiday”, they added.