One ticket sold in Britain wins biggest European jackpot ever

Jul 13, 2011, 10:23 pm (23 comments)

Euro Millions

Worth £161 million (US$258.4 million) but still unclaimed, a Briton holds the lottery ticket that will place them amongst the richest people in the country.

When the lucky recipient of Europe's biggest lottery win to date does claim the prize, he or she will be launched straight into the list of the top 500 richest people in the UK, going straight in at number 430, shifting the likes of Sir Tom Jones and David Bowie down a notch in the "rich list".

The ticket is worth just £4m less than the fortune of show business royalty David and Victoria Beckham. The winner will be twice as rich as Scottish Hollywood legend Sir Sean Connery and Roger Taylor, the drummer with rock band Queen.

The lucky player matched all five main numbers and both Lucky Stars to land the bumper prize in Tuesday's Euro Millions draw. It is not yet known whether the overnight multi-millionaire is an individual or in a lottery pool, or where they are from.

The massive jackpot was capped after a series of rollovers made it the largest yet in the UK and Europe.

The exact amount to be claimed by the winner is £161,653,000 (US$261,188,571). Two other UK-based lottery players won £1.7m after matching five numbers and one Lucky Star.

A UK National Lottery spokesman proclaimed, "This is amazing news — we are absolutely delighted that a UK ticket-holder has scooped the entire jackpot."

Previously, the largest lottery winner in the UK was an anonymous player who claimed £113m in the EuroMillions in October last year.

But the prospect of landing such a massive, life-changing payout could be the reason the ticket-holder has yet to come forward. Dr Rick Norris, chartered psychologist and author of Think Yourself Happy, said that to be suddenly handed such a large amount of money could effectively ruin the recipient's life.

"It's a complete shock," he said. "This person is going to go through a massive change in lifestyle. It's quite mind-numbing the number of changes and choices this person will have.

"To be parachuted into this world, they feel like aliens. They will no longer be able to mix with the people they knew previously. It could be very traumatic for them.

"There is a lot of evidence of people who have won the lottery and gone on to suffer depression. The ones who are best suited to it are those who accept quickly that their lives will never be the same. They also tend to be very sensible with their money."

He said that one of the main issues would come from giving up their jobs and effectively being cast adrift on a sea of luxury.

"Work does give us social contact, many of our friends are people who we work with, so you would be cut off from your immediate social group," he said.

"Secondly, your daily structure goes. Much as we might moan about work, it helps us structure our week and gives us purpose. Remove work and you can find that depression follows.

"The third thing is that work usually feeds our sense of self-esteem, and if you don't have work you lose that. The fourth, work does is give us a contrast to our days off."

There have been many examples of unhappy endings for lottery winners. Stuart Donnelly, from Glasgow, won £1.9m at age of 17 in 1997, making him the youngest lottery winner at that time. A college student living on a council estate, the win turned him into a recluse. Last year, he was found dead at the age of 29 in his home in Castle Douglas.

The winning Euro Millions numbers Tuesday were 17, 19, 38, 42 and 45, and the Lucky Stars were 9 and 10.

The Scotsman

Comments

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Wow, that newspaper and the psychologist make you want to hang yourself just from reading about how terrible a thing it is for someone to win.

Apparently there are libs over there too, wanting to throw a wet blanket on the party.

For the winner this is a time to be happy and get drunk, not depressed. Where do these people come up with this stuff?

Rock and ROLL!

rcbbuckeye's avatarrcbbuckeye

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Jul 13, 2011

Wow, that newspaper and the psychologist make you want to hang yourself just from reading about how terrible a thing it is for someone to win.

Apparently there are libs over there too, wanting to throw a wet blanket on the party.

For the winner this is a time to be happy and get drunk, not depressed. Where do these people come up with this stuff?

Rock and ROLL!

<snip>. I was thinking the same thing. I read that and wondered why I'm even playing the lottery.

I can say with absolute certainty (especially after this past couple of weeks) that if I'm lucky enough to win a jackpot, I will never, ever, ever, ever sell another stick of furniture. Ever.

Ever.......

Everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Did I say ever???????

 

 

 

Sounds like I just love my job.

 

Not.

This post has been automatically changed by the Lottery Post computer system to remove inappropriate content and/or spam.

TheGameGrl's avatarTheGameGrl

I thought the article was being realistic about the matter and not sugar coating it. THe message was : Change will happen and must happen , IS the winner capable of adapting to that change. I didnt see it in a negative way.Maybe thats because WHEN i win, I have adapted thru much and this would be no different. 

I simply hope its a family person and not a group.

duckman's avatarduckman

One way to better insure that if you win you will not become depressed and end up bankrupt emotionally is to create a compelling vision of the future for youself that includes contributing back to society in some meaningful way. Creating a hands-on solution to a social concern or problem or in some way helping others fulfills on of the six basic human needs, contribution. Many people who are rich reach a point in their lives where they ask the question "is this all there is?" and may find very little to get up for in the morning. The reason is they do not have a compelling reason to get up or they do not have a compelling reason to not be depressed...

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Gamegirl and duckman: Too much touchy-feely psycho-babble! Sad

ROCK AND ROLL!Hyper

redhot7's avatarredhot7

Whoever win this hopefully wouldn't get a heart attack.

diamondpalace's avatardiamondpalace

Congrats to the winner(s)!

myturn's avatarmyturn

All tax free and anonymous!

sully16's avatarsully16

Congrats to the winner, enjoy your good fortune.Hyper

myturn's avatarmyturn

If you have a UK address and bank account, you too can play EuroMillions online!

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Woo Hoo for the Brit that won!!!!!!!!

and now the Powerball Jackpot has grown ............... too many winners down the road in Latrobe ................. next big winner here in Scottdale, PA!

Patriot

savagegoose's avatarsavagegoose

... just published book, " think yourself dead. "

my geuss is the winner hasnt checked their ticket yet. its not like the britts need to consult tax lawyers before claiming. assuming they dont deposit it in an interest bearing account they never have to pay 1 red cent of tax. that would really irk the gov over there  ehehehe. i hear things are pretty tight in  old blighty.

well gratz to the winner. it was fun dreaming of me winning that 1/4 of a billion. keep on rolling

hearsetrax's avatarhearsetrax

Quote: Originally posted by myturn on Jul 14, 2011

All tax free and anonymous!

Twitch provided thar smart enough to remain anonymous and provided they stay off the radar

I wish the Winner/s tons of luck

dallascowboyfan's avatardallascowboyfan

Congrats to the winner/sThumbs Up

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