€11m Easter nest egg

WHAT better way to deal with the post-budget blues than to part with a few more euro for a Lotto ticket and a chance to win €11 million tax-free.

The Lotto jackpot has not been won since March 11 and includes an extra €2m put in the pot for the draw just before St Patrick’s Day.

It is the first time the Lotto jackpot has hit €11m this year.

“We cannot guarantee the weather, but we can guarantee a great jackpot tomorrow night,” said National Lottery spokeswoman Paula McEvoy.

And buying a Lotto ticket comes with a feelgood factor — more than €9m has been raised for good causes all over Ireland since this particular jackpot started rolling.

The largest jackpot won since the game began in 1988 was €18.9m. It was scooped last July by 15 workers and a former colleague at Dan Morrissey Ltd in Carlow.

And last August, a stroke of luck in the Lotto landed Greg Smyth, son of the golfer, Des Smyth, the top jackpot prize of €9.4m.

With 60% of Lotto players playing on the day of the draw, the advice is to play early. Ticket sales close at 7.45pm.