'Would be' Lotto millionaires urged to buy tickets early

Lottery chiefs are urging all would-be millionaires to buy their tickets early ahead of tomorrow’s record breaking jackpot draw.

Organisers have predicted two-thirds of the adult population will buy tickets for Saturday’s Lotto Draw for a chance to win €16m.

After an incredible two million tickets were sold for the mid-week draw – the highest sales in the game’s 20-year history – the public is advised to buy tickets early to avoid the expected queues for Saturday’s draw.

The National Lottery said it was experiencing unrivalled levels of interest.

No-one has won the top prize for five weeks and the race for tickets has intensified as the size of the jackpot has increased.

The record number of tickets sold for the last draw on Wednesday saw almost 5,500 bought every minute between 6pm and 7.45pm.

The highest jackpot so far this year was on January 31 when a Kilkenny couple won more than €8.5m after buying a three euro Quickpick ticket.

The previous highest lotto jackpot was for €9.5m and was shared on November 21 1996, by two tickets.