A Cambridgeshire couple who won £32.5 million (US$45.5 million) on the lottery have been identified — and they've revealed the bizarre reason they carried the winning ticket around for a week before claiming the massive windfall.
Retired schoolteacher Gerry Cannings, 63, and his wife Lisa, 48, were aware they had picked the winning numbers the morning after the draw — but didn't celebrate until days later as their house was being decorated.
The couple, from Peterborough, wanted to wait until they had unpacked the boxes at home before deciding what to do with the £32,534,188 — the second biggest prize in Lotto's history.
Lisa, who is also a teacher, said, "I know it sounds mad but we had a guy in to paint the whole house.
"We'd been planning it for ages and had packed everything into boxes.
"We just thought it would be easier to wait, although it did mean that Gerry had to carry round the winning ticket in his wallet all week. It was very nerve-wracking!"
The couple, who have three children and five grandchildren between them, bought the ticket for the draw on February 13 while visiting Gerry's parents Victor and Joan Cannings at their home in Datchet, Berkshire.
Gerry had popped out to buy fish and chips for his family from the Drunken Fish Shop when he spotted a National Lottery poster announcing the big rollover Lotto jackpot.
Feeling lucky, the keen golfer splashed out on five lines, and was delighted and stunned to find the next morning that they'd won the jackpot with the numbers 15, 16, 23, 39, 48 and 59.
Gerry said, "Dad does Lotto as well, plays the same numbers all the time and had a ticket that night too.
"So at about 10pm, Dad suggested we check the winning numbers. But we couldn't find them on teletext so went to bed.
"Sunday morning came and I decided to check the internet. I started looking down the lines I had and then saw that the first line was the same as the one on the screen.
"Next I saw there was only one winner and then it hit me 'Bloody hell we've got the whole lot!'
But he claimed his family didn't immediately believe his luck — only realising he was right when their 11-year-old son read out the numbers from the TV.
"I double checked it, reading it forwards and backwards," said Gerry.
"It just didn't seem real but it looked right. I went and found Dad but it was obvious he didn't believe me.
"I then went back upstairs to tell Lisa and said 'What would you say if we won the jackpot?' She can tell if I'm lying by looking into my eyes so she knew immediately I was being serious.
"It was only when our 11 year old son read out the winning numbers on TV and they matched did Dad finally believe me.
"Our son asked what it meant, I just said 'Daddy's won an awful lot of money!'."
The couple, who have been together for 13 years, immediately called Camelot to have the win confirmed.
Gerry said he has always dreamed how he would spend a lottery win, not actually believing that it would come true, but he and Lisa now hope to help their children and grandchildren financially.
The couple are on the lookout for a larger home big enough to sleep all the family at Christmas.
Gerry, a keen golfer, is also after a car wide enough to take his golf clubs and the couple, who are huge Lord of The Rings fans, plan to visit New Zealand to see where it was filmed.
Gerry added, "We can go where we want — and travel First Class too.
"After looking after the family, what this money brings is a chance to enjoy new experiences and see places we thought we wouldn't get to see."
The couple's win places them second in the Lotto rich list, just behind last month's biggest ever Lotto winners, David & Carol Martin, and one other anonymous ticket holder, who both scooped a £33,035,323 jackpot prize each in the draw on 9 January.
Gerry and Lisa are among the 88 ticket-holders who have scooped £1 million or more since October.
This includes jackpot winners and the guaranteed millionaires made by Lotto Millionaire Raffle in each and every draw.
Other lottery winners from the region include EuroMillions winners Adrian and Gillian Bayford, from Haverhill, who are now in the Sunday Times Rich List with their £149 million fortune.
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Congratulations to them. Jolly good
Congrats to the happy couple.
Congrats to them.
Good thing he went out for fish & chips
Congratulations to Lisa and Gerry!! Have fun!
Congratulations Gerry & Lisa
Who says fish n chips aint good for you?
Why didn't they remain anonymous, as is allowed in the UK? Maybe UK teachers aren't very smart?
People like them are dumb, I don't understand how you can carry around a ticket worth that kind of money for a week, so many things could happen. You could be robbed, it get damaged somehow, you forget it, whatever. At least put it in a safe or better yet a safety deposit box.
Lucky people! They had a nice life that got even better.
Yes I am with you on that. Traveling first class, congratulations!
Congratulations to both of you lucky persons and also to your families!!
funny how most people on here wouldn't even bother to play for a jackpot that low. they seem content with that amount. maybe people should readjust their thinking on jackpot size. yes, even a 2 million dollar jackpot is worth playing every day even with your last dollar or two. this waiting until it's 150 million or more before i risk my 2.00 is ludicrous. play every day people no matter what.
its GBP £34M and equal to about $47.4M USD , plus tax free, nd not an annuity. so equal to an advertised US jackpot of $142.8 M, ie more than the next mega ball
Congrats to them!
Geez, people: do yourselves a favor & stop doing publicity! It doesn't help you at all (it's potentially very dangerous to the winner), all it does is pump up sales to benefit lottery executives (whose bonus is tied to ticket sales).
Maybe it's because of the NHS benefit, lower costs of life.
Personally I would NOT be running around with a winning ticket. Painters in the house don't mean you can't cash it. Have your house painted, have someone house sit, and go on a mini vacation to pop some corks, come back, deal with the rest.
Congratulations
Nice! That is awesome!
UK lottery operator Camelot has received a "valid claim" for a record £33m Lotto jackpot prize, it says.
The holder of the winning ticket - bought in Worcester for the 9 January draw - has opted to remain anonymous.
About £66m had been up for grabs to players, but it was the unclaimed £33,035,323 that had people checking their old tickets.
UK lottery winnings have the right to remain anonymous. I can't see any good reason to go public. Maybe winners get caught up in all the excitement and want to let off steam. However, I suspect, that many who do go public about their win, regret it later, especially as the many begging letters arrive.
I can't think of a single situation where it would be beneficial to come forward publicly if you didn't have to, not one.
let those who wish to have it known far and wide that they got that lucky let them and let those who wish it not known far and wide let them scurry about thar business the way the want to
simple as that
That why I think Euro lottery is one of the biggest lotto in the world.
Congrats to the merry old English couple but why would they take a photo op with the giant check? Why skip the anonymity route if your state or country allows it. I'm not sure here in California if you can claim anonymously. I understand lottery officials photograph all winners for credibility however if I win MM/PB I'd split the jackpot 50/50 with an old relative so they could sign and claim the winning ticket at the lottery office.
Congratulations!!!
Here in California, your name will be made public. The city where you purchased the ticket will also be public. This is law.
Not where you live. This should encourage the player to buy in a city where they do not live.
You do not have to do the press interview, the grip and grin photo. They will take a photo of the ticket for publication on their website.
I will submit a written statement to the press. In it, I will describe Lottery Post and USAmega and our founder Todd Northrop.
I will hire a media firm to handle my publicity and written statement.