Tesco checks out €6 million Lotto winner
The advice from those holding the cheque is if you bought your Lotto ticket in Tesco in Wilton, then check it quickly because it could be you.
The busy supermarket sold the only winning ticket in the country for the €6,068,570 jackpot.
Speculation was rife among shoppers at the store yesterday as to the identity of the winner who bought the €16 multi-draw ticket last Saturday to cover all four draws. The jackpot had rolled over for seven draws since 19 May.
Tesco in Wilton is one of the busiest stores in the country for Lotto, with approximately 7,000 paying customers passing through its doors every day.
Store manager Declan O’Driscoll said he had no idea as to the identity of the lucky winner.
“It’s great for us to sell it but it’s even better for whoever bought it. The recession is definitely over for them and a few generations of their family. There was speculation it could be a staff member as there is a syndicate going but everybody showed up for work on time this morning but, then again, maybe they are keeping quiet,” he said.
All winners have 90 days from the day of the draw to collect the prize. Some €20 million went unclaimed in Lotto prizes last year, with one Euromillions prize worth €1 million bought in April 2009 among those which were unclaimed.
The total amount of unclaimed prizes in Ireland last year amounted to 1.5% to 2% of sales.
An average 67% of Ireland’s over 18s play the Lotto every week. Since the Lotto began in April 1988, there have been 12 unclaimed jackpots totalling over €11 million.
