A single mother from Galway, Ireland, nearly lost out on a €258,528 (US$351,482) lottery win — all because she tossed her winning ticket into a garbage can.
But Lady Luck smiled on her when she eventually discovered the all-important ticket buried in the household garbage.
The Galway woman began a frantic search for the discarded EuroMillions ticket and eventually found it at the bottom of the garbage can.
She toasted her double whammy of good luck on Tuesday at the National Lottery HQ in Dublin.
She explained how she had recovered the winning ticket only in the nick of time.
The contents of the bin were bound for the local dump the following morning and the all-important piece of paper would have been lost forever.
"I never play EuroMillions so I don't know what came over me that day — I just asked for a ticket," she said.
"I forgot all about it until a few weeks later when I saw a picture of the shop in the newspaper and the story that a winning EuroMillions ticket was sold there.
"But I couldn't remember where I put my ticket. I searched the car — no ticket.
"I searched the house, top to bottom — no ticket. I looked in the recycling bin — no ticket.
Onions
"Then I searched the normal bin. It was due to be emptied the next day, so it was very full."
"I went all through the bin to the very bottom, and there it was — covered in onions, olive oil and garlic but still in one piece."
So she wrapped the slightly soiled ticket in kitchen roll and brought it in to the National Lottery offices.
"It still doesn't feel real. I can't believe that I came so close to losing it and now I have the check in my hand," she said.
The winner — who wishes to remain anonymous — bought her ticket for the draw of July 30 in the EuroSpar in Laghey while holidaying in Co Donegal.
She matched five numbers and one Lucky Star and now plans to buy a house with her winnings.
Thanks to myturn for the tip.
Here we go again. Always treat your tickets with respect. Check them always.
If she really wanted to stay anonymous she shouldn't have mentioned that her ticket was covered with olive oil and garlic.
It shouldn't be too hard for the reporters to find an Italian woman in Ireland.
WOW in the nick of time!!!! Congratulation to the winner.
LOL
Thats all she got for matching 5+1. EM does'nt sound that good.
"That's all she got"??? It's way more than she had...and definately way more than she paid for the ticket...talk about return on investment LOL
Yes 350k is nice, but thats a pathetic payout for getting 5+1 in a game thats played in nine countries. Your carolina cash5 pays that out sometimes.
I know!! Just like you, I would have thrown it right back into the onion- and garlic-soaked trash bin.
"I never play EuroMillions"
Oh come on! It's always these players that win.
There is no taxes on lottery over there. So in reality it's almost as if she won $1M on a scratch ticket in the US. Between the annuities and taxes, lottery winnings shrink to just over 1/3 of original jackpot if you take lumpsum.
"The Galway woman began a frantic search for the discarded EuroMillions ticket and eventually found it at the bottom of the garbage can."
I guess it was a good thing she decided to look through her garbage can before she threw the garbage out.
I guess we should take notice and throw our tickets in the garbage can, or stuff in a trunk, or under the car seat, or in the couch/ chair crack. Maybe then we will all win!
This is indeed a pretty interesting story. She's so lucky to find her ticket. There are so many cases like this, they purchase ticket and eventually forget about it without them knowing if they win or not. I hope players will learn to value their ticket. It is their key to a good fortune!