Lottery winner from Northants has Sunday roast to thank for windfall
A Northampton man who popped to the shop to buy carrots for a Sunday roast also picked up a lottery ticket that has won him nearly £120,000.
Martin Gilbey's winning Euro Millions ticket has netted him a cool £119,151.
Martin, who works at a glass and window manufacturing company, was at home chatting with his partner Tracy Priest about their finances on Friday 8 January.
After all the Christmas bills had been paid, I checked my account and noticed there wasn’t much left to live on.
Tracy and I said we still must have a Sunday roast that weekend and after checking the fridge, thankfully all we were missing was some vegetables, so there and then I decided to pop out to buy some carrots.
Martin said he forgot about the ticket until bedtime then remembered to check it on the lottery app, and realised he had won a lot of money.
Martin called The National Lottery hotline at exactly 9am on the Saturday morning to check if he had won and announced the news to the family on a Zoom call later that morning.
Martin said: “I think some thought there was a problem, but I started the call by saying I had some great news. Initially, many thought it was a practical joke, but soon were all cheering together.”
Like for many, 2020 was a tough year for Martin; he had to find a new job. Also in late 2019 Martin lost his Mother. His three brothers and sister were on the Zoom call together with his son Jordan and partner Tracy – he wanted to share his news with them first because these are the people Martin wants to help financially after his win.
Martin said, “I haven’t thought about buying anything, I just want to help my family. We’ve all had a tough year, and a little bit of help will make a big difference to them all. I also want to pay off my Jordan’s car loan and as we are big cricket fans, I have promised him a trip to Australia to watch the Ashes next year. The rest will be for Tracy’s and my future.
Martin is a huge cricket fan and has played at the highest level. He represented England at indoor cricket on a tour of Australia in 1994 and played in the 1995 Indoor Cricket World Cup hosted in the UK.
A big Elvis fan, Martin’s win on Friday 8 January was on what would have been the King’s 86th birthday.
Martin said, “It’s funny because when Tracy woke up that Friday morning, she said to me she felt it was going to be a lucky day. I still can’t believe it, things like this don’t happen to people like me. Not having my parents with me to see this win is heartbreaking but at the same time I know they are both looking down on me. I even placed the ticket under some photos of them in a cupboard knowing they would keep the ticket safe until Camelot could verify the ticket.”
Martin bought his winning EuroMillions Lucky Dip ticket at the Londis store, Station Road, Cogenhoe, Northampton, NN7 1LU.
He matched 5 numbers and one Lucky Star. His winning numbers for the draw on Friday 8 January 2021 were 18, 23, 37, 41, 42, and the Lucky Star was 6.
In the current situation, National Lottery players are encouraged to play online at national-lottery.co.uk or by downloading the National Lottery app, and to only buy their tickets in retail in line with government guidance. Playing online via the website or app means that your ticket is checked, and you get an email notification if you win a prize. You can also scan your retail tickets on the National Lottery app to check if you're a winner.