The owner of the shop which sold the €4.4million lottery ticket in Saturday night’s Lotto draw says he hopes the winner is a local player but admitted it could be anyone.
Austin Daly, of Daly’s Topaz in the Border town of Lifford in Co Donegal said there is an incredible buzz about the town since the winner was announced.
Daly’s Topaz sits just yards from the order with Strabane in Co Tyrone and there is a huge amount of passing traffic each day.
The shop has just undergone a massive renovation including a huge digital screen which Mr Daly used to put up a massive sign exclaiming they had sold the winning quick pick ticket worth €4,434,994.
The sign read “OMG Check your tickets. We sold this week’s winning 4.4m LOTTO ticket.”
Mr Daly said, “We didn’t waste much time after it sunk in to let people know. We’re so excited for whoever has won the Lotto.
“I’m hoping it will be someone local but it could be anyone with the amount of passing trade we get because we are so close to the Border.
“Whoever it is I wish them all the best and I hope they really enjoy their winnings,” he said.
The winning numbers were: 1, 2, 7, 33, 34, 40 and bonus number was 6. The Quick Pick ticket was bought in the filling station the day of the draw, Saturday 13th.
Second Donegal win
The luck didn’t stop there for Donegal as a ticket bought in G & S Supermarket, Church Road in Carndonagh matched five numbers and the bonus, winning a player €283,274.
Speaking on the Lotto jackpot win, Dermot Griffin, CEO of the National Lottery said: "They call tomorrow Blue Monday but there will be no Monday Blues for this lucky winner who won the first Lotto jackpot of the year. Last year we had a total of 12 Lotto jackpot wins so this is a great start to 2018 for our players".
Mr Griffin urged all players who purchased a ticket in the Lifford and Carndonagh regions of Donegal to check their tickets.
“If you are one of those two lucky ticketholders, sign the back of the ticket and contact the National Lottery Prize Claims Team on 01 836 4444. We are open from 9.15am tomorrow and we will make arrangements for you to collect your prize,” he said.