Rumour mill in overdrive after €250M Munster EuroMillions win

Extra.ie​

5 hours ago

Someone in Munster just had a monster win in the EuroMillions but the rumour mill has gone into overdrive around the country.
The winning ticket, which is now worth a massive € 250 million, was sold in the south of the country, Lotto bosses confirmed yesterday.
The huge quarter-of-a-billion-euro prize was won by a single ticket bought in a shop. This historic win marks a new milestone for the Irish National Lottery, setting the record for the largest prize ever claimed in the country.
The previous record stood at €175 million, won in February 2019, with a ticket sold at Reilly's Daybreak in The Naul, Co. Dublin. The numbers for the latest EuroMillions draw were: 13, 22, 23, 44, 49, and the two Lucky Stars were 3 and 5. Reilly's Daybreak store, Naul, Co Dublin. Pic: by Mac Innes Photography
Lotto spokeswoman Emma Monaghan confirmed that the ticket was sold in person and not bought online. She urged the winner to 'have a cup of tea and let it sink in'.
Ms Monaghan added: 'I would be asking people to check your 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.'
She continued: 'Not only did we see 92,000 players in Ireland win prizes, including our top prize in EuroMillions Plus, but we also saw the historic jackpot being won by an Irish player. The €250M Euromillions winning ticket was purchased in Munster. Pic: Shutterstock
'We are continuing to advise all EuroMillions players in the Munster region to check their tickets very carefully to see if they have landed this mega windfall. We're looking forward to sharing more details about the win in the coming days.'
The continent-wide jackpot had grown to € 250 million following various rollovers and reached its maximum cap earlier this month, meaning the jackpot could not get any bigger.
The winner of the latest humongous prize is the 18th Irish EuroMillions jackpot winner since the game became available here in 2004. Someone in Munster just had a monster win in the EuroMillions but the rumour mill has gone into overdrive around the country. Pic: Getty Images
Despite confirmation that the ticket had been bought in the Munster region, that did not stop the rumour mill going into overdrive all over the country.
Some had heard it was sold in Wexford, while others claimed it was in Mayo, and there was one small village in south Dublin that initially sparked most of the feverish speculation.
Stepaside, on the outskirts of Leopardstown, had become the focal point for rumours and tales of newly crowned millionaires. Extra.ie visited the supposedly lucky shop to see if there was any truth to the rumours that it had sold the ticket. Stepaside, South Co Dublin. Pic: Getty Images
Kennedy's Centra was abuzz with people all wanting to know if someone local had just won € 250 million. Shop worker Ross Butler said the whispers started late last night that someone in Stepaside had taken home the jackpot.
'It started on a Facebook group I think, and it grew from there,' he said. 'Every single person coming in the door has been asking about it, and we've just said we don't know. We have sold a few winning tickets before.
'Recently, there was one sold here that was worth a million, but nothing like the EuroMillions. It'll be nice to know either way if it was here or not because that's all the talk has been today.'
Across the road in the Step Inn pub, senior barman Ciaran Ward said the rumours caused a 'great buzz about the place'.
He said: 'It would be great if it was sold here, alright, but nobody knows, do they? That's the thing. They're not saying. It could be here or anywhere, but you'd hope it was a group of people who won it and not just one person.'
Local punter Larry Butler said that he always does the Lotto with his friend Frank, whom he hadn't seen all day. Frank had yet to check the ticket despite the rumours, Larry explained.
'He has it there somewhere, and it hasn't been checked. I'd trust Larry with it, not a bother,' he quipped. 'You'd want a head on your shoulders if you did win it, but. Best of luck to them, whoever they are.'
The first EuroMillions draw was held on February 13, 2004, in Paris. Initially, only the UK, France and Spain participated, with the Irish, Austrian, Belgian, Luxembourgish, Portuguese and Swiss lotteries joining for the October 8, 2004, draw.