Limerick man hides €1m winning Lotto ticket inside glasses case!

A LIMERICK man who couldn’t believe his eyes after seeing his syndicate’s Lotto numbers come up hid the winning ticket in a glasses case!

He was part of a syndicate who headed to National Lottery headquarters in Dublin on Wednesday to collect their special Lotto Plus Raffle prize. It is worth a life-changing €1,000,500. 

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The ticket for the Saturday, September 6 draw was purchased at Centra Cappamore on Moore Street in the east Limerick village.

The syndicate manager, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he and fellow syndicate members were taking the win in their stride.  

“I’ve hidden the ticket in a glasses case on the windowsill ever since checking it. It’s been there the past few weeks and taking it out to bring it here today is the first time it’s been moved. 

“I’ve been going about things as normal to be honest and I even met friends straight after realising we won the big raffle, and I didn’t say a word to them. It probably hasn’t fully sunk in just yet but once it does, I’ll be ready to make a few plans then,” he told National Lottery staff. 

The Lotto Plus Raffle usually sees between 60 and 120 winners of €500 in each draw. However, there was a special raffle event on Saturday, September 6 which saw the Lotto Plus Raffle prize boosted. Every ticket with the winning raffle number was entered into a random draw and one ticket was selected to win €1 million, in addition to the usual €500 for the prize category. 

And the Limerick syndicate’s luck was in! Store owner Mark Lenihan (pictured below) and the staff in the Centra in Cappamore were thrilled to sell the winning ticket.

Meanwhile, a EuroDreams player in Ireland could be celebrating after tonight’s draw with the top prize remaining boosted to an incredible €30,000 per month for 30 years.   

A special event in the game, which kicked off last Thursday, means that the top prize will remain boosted to €30,000 per month for 30 years until it is won.  

The EuroDreams Tier 1 prize is typically €20,000 per month for 30 years but during this special game event, players have the chance to win even bigger than usual.   

The game mechanics remain the same, players must match all six winning numbers and the Dream number to win – now they simply have the chance to win more.   

EuroDreams is the first annuity game of its kind ever to be seen in Ireland and unlike any other draw-based game, winners receive monthly tax-free payments instead of one lump sum. The Tier 1 prize is typically €20,000 per month for 30 years, totalling €7.2 million. The Tier 2 prize is €2,000 per month for 5 years, totalling €120,000.    

If the top prize is not won tonight, the boosted prize event will continue until there is a winner.   

In September, an online player in Wicklow became the first EuroDreams Irish winner of the Tier 1 prize, while eight Tier 2 winners have also won prizes in Dublin (4), Kerry (2), Cork (1) and Wicklow (1).   

EuroDreams is played in eight countries, namely Ireland, Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, with draws taking place every Monday and Thursday evening.  

Players dreaming of winning big are reminded that tickets can be purchased in-store, through the National Lottery app or at www.lottery.ie ahead of the 7.30pm cut-off time for sales this evening. 

Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on National Lottery games goes back to good causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage and the Irish Language. 

In total, more than €6.5 billion has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 37 years ago. In 2024 alone, €239.3 million was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland.    

The National Lottery advises people to play their games responsibly and for fun.