A couple who won £1 million (US$1.3 million) in the United Kingdom's National Lottery plan to spend their winnings on a pair of replacement knees.
Malcolm and Bev Dixon, from Leigh in Greater Manchester, initially believed they had scooped £1,000 after matching five numbers and the bonus ball in last Wednesday's Lotto draw.
After becoming millionaires, the grandparents said the first thing they intended to buy was a new pair of knees for Mrs. Dixon, a 50-year-old pub landlady.
"This win couldn't come at a better time. Bev is in constant pain with her knees so this will definitely be the first big spend," Mr. Dixon, 43, told PA Media.
"Your health is so important — the win will enable us to afford to give Bev a totally new lease of life."
The Dixons plan to move out of their rented home and buy their first house close to their three children and 13 grandchildren. Mrs. Dixon, who runs the Railway Tavern in Leigh, is hoping to take early retirement.
Her husband, who was forced to give up his job as a building engineer due to injury, said he had been out walking the couple's two dogs when he checked the lottery ticket.
He texted his wife to tell her they'd won £1,000. "She was absolutely over the moon. I then thought I would just double-check this was right — I could not believe it!" said Malcolm, who described the discovery as "a surreal moment".
"It was only when I went to check for a second time that I saw all of the zeros. I was just in a state of shock. I immediately called Bev again and said 'I've got it wrong, we have in fact won 1 million."
The couple, who will celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary on Sunday, said the win meant they would not have to worry about money.
"We have a million things going through our heads which we would like to buy but we just want to take our time," added Mr. Dixon.
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Why not?! Hahahahahhaha ... surgery is expensive
👨🏻🏫sounds like a brilliant idea, I hope she has a speedy recovery
Hey neighbor...PM me so I know where you are so maybe we can play lottery together. If not, that's OK.( Simpsonville, KY)
Anyway, they have Universal Health Care in UK, but the wait for elective surgery can be long from what I understand. Perhaps they will go to Spain like many Americans do for their surgeries and still save a boat load of cash.
Congrats to her and best wishes for the knee surgery.
Congrats on the win!
He's out of work now. She's gonna quit her job. They're gonna move and buy a house. She's gonna get her knees replaced.
Can they do that on only £1 Mil?
I don't think they thought about all the expenses and all they have is not really a lot of money to cover it all.
It just seems that they will run out of money very shortly.
Congrats to the lucky couple, get some new knees and travel the world.
"Can they do that on only £1 Mil?"
Why not? It's $1.3 million, so let's say they buy a house that costs $250k. Maybe they're "buying" her knee replacements, but they'll probably just be paying a modest share of the actual cost. Google says the full cost in the US would be $99,000, and it should be cheaper in almost every other country. Still, let's call it another 50k. Quitting your job is free, so they'll have $1 million left, and instead of paying rent every month they'll have an asset that presumably grows in value.
They won't be rich, but they'll probably be as well off as they were collecting her income and paying rent. No telling abou this health issues, but she can always get another job down the road is they think it's necessary.
sully16, What about investing for the future? Delay the travel and pay for it later from the earnings from their investments.
New knees are a priority.
One could say, they are going to have a right auld knees-up!
I don't know Aussie slang. What is a right auld knees-up?
Congrats to your winners ....
In my opinion .....A knee replacement major surgery.
It takes up to one year to heal and a lot of changes and pain.
Have before / after therapy . Best of Luck !