Fortune teller gave Lotto winner the tip
But for one lucky punter the gesture has resulted in a far more fortunate turn of events.
On Saturday, Mark Furlong, 31, originally from New Ross in Wexford, became the latest in a lengthy line of Irish multi-millionaires when he scooped a €2.8 million share of the €5.6m Lotto jackpot.
The Waterford-based father-of-two’s story stands out due to the eerie way his life-changing numbers were chosen.
“I got them in a lucky dip from one of those fortune tellers on Blackpool beach in England nine years ago,” he explained.
“She was there with other mystics reading palms and giving predictions, and she had these bags of numbers with her.
“I was there with a friend, having a laugh, and asked her for one — it was €5, €10 or €20 a pack and she said they’d predict the lottery.
“I don’t know if she ever played them herself, but they took a while to come true for me,” he joked.
Since the numbers were handed down in a manner akin to an episode of Lost, Mark has spent €2 to €5 every week playing the supposedly mystic digits.
Under the instruction of the fortune teller, he refused to change his winning hand, buying the same ticket every week.
Over the course of 468 consecutive weeks the father-of-two spent between €1,000 and €2,340 on fruitless attempts, each week witnessing his magic formula turn to dust.
However, after nine years of defeat, the magic numbers finally succeeded in bringing the seaside mystic’s prediction to pass — at the 469th time of asking.
The success-rate of the apparently clairvoyant mystic could not be immediately verified.
However, Mark said if it was written in the stars, their paths would cross again and he would be happy to share the Lotto spoils — a decision he assumed the fortune teller had already predicted.
In the meantime, Mark, who is continuing to work at his Nursery Rhymes pram shop business, will split the winnings with his sister Michelle and his wife Gillian, who turned 34 on Monday.
The Waterford win was one of two tickets which shared the Saturday jackpot of €5.6m.
The second ticket holder, whose identity remains unknown even to fortune tellers, was sold at the News ‘n’ Choose shop in Loughrea, Co Galway, over the weekend, the store’s third Lotto success in just two years.
The winning numbers were 2, 3, 7, 9, 21 and 27, while the bonus ball is 40.
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