‘Don't do anything in a rush': Belfast's £10m winner offers advice to €250m EuroMillions ticket holder yet to come forward

Belfast Telegraph

5 hours ago

A Belfast man who won the lottery nearly 30 years ago has urged the winner of Tuesday's massive EuroMillions jackpot to 'put it in the bank and get their head around it'.
Former bus driver Peter Lavery scooped £10.2m in 1996.
This week's EuroMillions draw saw someone in the Republic of Ireland, who bought their ticket in a shop in Co Wexford, win €250m (£213m).
We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.
The numbers were 13, 22, 23, 44, 49, while the lucky numbers were three and five.
The record-breaking win surpasses the €175m record for the largest cheque ever presented to an Irish player in February 2019.
Previously earning £200 a week driving his bus route, Mr Lavery quit his job two days after he won £10m.
He went on a 10-person holiday to a five-star resort in St Lucia and also recalled taking 22 people to New York for St Patrick's Day.
Mr Lavery also set up a charity in memory of his parents and gave around £2m to other charities.
Speaking on BBC's Good Morning Ulster today, Mr Lavery, a director of Titanic Distillers, admitted that when compared to €250m, his £10.2m didn't sound like a lot.
'It does not, but let me tell you something, what I won was a massive amount of money,' he said.
'It was over 29 years ago, it's unbelievable. I just want to say good luck to the person who has won it.
'They are probably shocked. At the time, I was one of the biggest wins in Northern Ireland, £10m in 1996 is a lot of money. You just can't be an ordinary worker today and have a quarter of a billion in your back pocket.
'It's a big scoop. Whoever has it, fair play to them. I hope they really enjoy it – that is more important than anything else.'
Chaotic scenes as Kneecap's Liam Og O hAnnaidh arrives at court
He added: 'I think the right thing to do is to put it in the bank and get their head around it. Buy a few odds and ends. If they really want a new car, go buy it, go on holiday, do things like that.
'But don't do anything in a rush. They have all the time in their lives, and hopefully they are young enough to enjoy it.
'Everyone has that dream of winning the lottery. You never think it is going to be you. Everybody plays the lottery to change their lives.
'You don't do half the things you say you are going to do. I have seen the globe, I have done everything else.
'I was young at the time, I was 34, a good age to get it. I have had a good life of it. I just hope and pray that the person, or persons, who have won it will have the same luck as myself.'
It has not yet been confirmed exactly where the winning ticket was sold, but the National Lottery has urged the winner 'to stay calm, get independent legal and financial advice and contact us as soon as they can'.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, National Lottery spokesperson Emma Monaghan confirmed the winning ticket was purchased in a retail store somewhere in Ireland and said more information on the location where it was bought will be released in the coming days.
'So, shortly after the draw last night, a small number of people internally got word that it was an Irish winner, so it was all hands-on deck last night,' she told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
'But we're delighted with it. We're delighted for the winner. I mean, it's just such great news for our players and they've now become the highest ever winner of an Irish National Lottery game. So, that is some title to hold.'
She said the National Lottery's prize claims team opens from 9am this morning and as of yet, the lucky winner is yet to make contact.
'At the moment we're just urging everyone to check their tickets very carefully this morning. If they are holding the winning ticket, the most important thing they can do is to sign the back of it and keep it somewhere safe. And the next step then is to contact our prize team,' she said.
'I don't know who has won it, but somebody out there is holding the winning ticket. In terms of location, what I can tell you is that the winning ticket was bought in a retail store somewhere in Ireland.'