U.K. couple watched lottery drawing as they won £101M

Oct 11, 2011, 10:23 am (32 comments)

Euro Millions

It was only the third time they played the game

Includes video report

A couple from Cambridgeshire, UK, who won Friday's £101 million (US$157.7 million) Euro Millions jackpot have been named as Dave and Angela Dawes.

The lucky pair were the only winners of the draw and have claimed the UK's third-biggest lottery prize.

Mr. Dawes, 47, is a shift supervisor at Premier foods while his 43-year-old partner is a volunteer at the British Heart Foundation.

The third time was the charm for the couple — they had only played EuroMillions twice before.

The couple, who have been together for four years, were planning to get married in Portugal next year, so the windfall means they can now enjoy the wedding of their dreams.  Angela was a divorcee who opted to take Dave's surname after she met him.

First on the couple's shopping list is a new diamond engagement ring for Angela, followed by a house in Portugal and a Rolls Royce.

A Chelsea season ticket and house near the football team's ground are also on the list for fan Mr. Dawes.

"I'm not worried about getting a box — I want to stand with the real fans and watch my team play," he said.

"I'd also love to live near the ground and have Frank Lampard come over for a cup of tea!"

The couple also plan to give a proportion of the winnings to charity.

Mr. Dawes described how they discovered their win.  "We were watching TV and the EuroMillions draw show came on so we kept watching, not thinking we would win anything," Dawes explained.

"We got our tickets out and watched in shock as, one by one, the numbers came up on the line I'd chosen.  We couldn't believe it!  It was too late to call Camelot so I kept the ticket on me all night until the morning but we didn't sleep a wink."

The biggest-ever Euro Millions prize was a £161 million (US$251.4 million) jackpot won by Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs, Scotland, earlier this year.

The decision over whether to go public after winning such a huge amount has always been controversial.  The Weirs were besieged by sackloads of begging letters after they gave television and newspaper interviews and even went into hiding for a while.

News story photo(Click to display full-size in gallery)

Sky News, BBC, Lottery Post Staff

Comments

LottoGuyBC's avatarLottoGuyBC

Big Congratz to the UK couple Cheers

£101M is a whole lot of Cha Ching Banana

CLETU$

It never ceases to amaze me that people don't claim their winnings anonymously when they have the option to.BIG mistake!

Congratulations,anyway.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Nice story, seem like a nice couple, happy for em. Did Joe the Plumber move to England? Just kidding. Sure looks like him though. Heard he's running for office somewhere.

Only the third time they played? Holy moly. Should have said it was the first time they ever played like someone here suggested - just to piss people off, lol.

And what's the deal with her taking his last name after she just met him? Man, that woulda scared the hell outta me. I'da been headin fer the hills when I first heard that. And I'm already in the hills.

They seem like nice people though and I hope the beggars don't make their life miserable now.

VAHopeful's avatarVAHopeful

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Oct 11, 2011

Nice story, seem like a nice couple, happy for em. Did Joe the Plumber move to England? Just kidding. Sure looks like him though. Heard he's running for office somewhere.

Only the third time they played? Holy moly. Should have said it was the first time they ever played like someone here suggested - just to piss people off, lol.

And what's the deal with her taking his last name after she just met him? Man, that woulda scared the hell outta me. I'da been headin fer the hills when I first heard that. And I'm already in the hills.

They seem like nice people though and I hope the beggars don't make their life miserable now.

I need to remember not to take a big gulp while reading your posts. You always crack me up.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Quote: Originally posted by VAHopeful on Oct 11, 2011

I need to remember not to take a big gulp while reading your posts. You always crack me up.

Well thank ya kindly, VAHopeful.

I like people from Virginia except for them troopers that hide along 81 North just north of Abingdon.

They're a bunch of bastages.

sully16's avatarsully16

Congrats to the lucky couple. Enjoy.

louise black

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Oct 11, 2011

Nice story, seem like a nice couple, happy for em. Did Joe the Plumber move to England? Just kidding. Sure looks like him though. Heard he's running for office somewhere.

Only the third time they played? Holy moly. Should have said it was the first time they ever played like someone here suggested - just to piss people off, lol.

And what's the deal with her taking his last name after she just met him? Man, that woulda scared the hell outta me. I'da been headin fer the hills when I first heard that. And I'm already in the hills.

They seem like nice people though and I hope the beggars don't make their life miserable now.

LOLYeh, Rdgrnr I like your humor better than you politics.Congrat! to the Dawes. They really really should have remain anonymous.Ponder

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Congrats to Dave and Angela Dawes!

They should have remained anonymous!

The Greed of Envy Entitled Crowd will descend upon them!  Red Devil

businatihaba

Hi LPers. I want to play the Euromillions but there is something I am unsure of. Is the website for buying tickets legit? Is it legal (American law) to buy the Euromillions tickets via internet? If you know or have had expereince with this please let me know via this medium.

Boney526's avatarBoney526

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Oct 11, 2011

Nice story, seem like a nice couple, happy for em. Did Joe the Plumber move to England? Just kidding. Sure looks like him though. Heard he's running for office somewhere.

Only the third time they played? Holy moly. Should have said it was the first time they ever played like someone here suggested - just to piss people off, lol.

And what's the deal with her taking his last name after she just met him? Man, that woulda scared the hell outta me. I'da been headin fer the hills when I first heard that. And I'm already in the hills.

They seem like nice people though and I hope the beggars don't make their life miserable now.

Joe the Plumber actually has an exploratory comittee to run for either the House or Senate, I forgot which one.  I think he holds some small public office now, or at least already ran for one after the Elections.

freeobama's avatarfreeobama

Congrats to the winners hopefully i can get lucky wednesday night!Type

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Quote: Originally posted by freeobama on Oct 11, 2011

Congrats to the winners hopefully i can get lucky wednesday night!Type

Best wishes to you on Wednesday nite, but it is time for Pennsylvania to have a big winner!  Big Grin

maringoman's avatarmaringoman

I have played for 8 years and still nothing and these guys hit it big on their third try? fate is cruel.

 As long as I am on a budget lifestyle I will play the lotto. I'll die trying.

imash85

Congrats to the nice couple. Hurray!

Subscribe to this news story