Panic stations as Kerry couple ‘lose’ €500k EuroMillions ticket after big win
A Kerry couple nearly missed out on their massive €500,000 EuroMillions win after the partner hid the ticket so well he had to pull a cupboard apart in order to find it
The couple very nearly missed out
A Kerry couple are anticipating the holiday of a lifetime after scooping half a million from Lotto numbers purchased in a beloved Cork city shop. However, they almost forfeited the prize entirely after misplacing their ticket just hours after discovering their win.
The winning ticket was bought at Con’s Shop on the Northside – formerly operated by legendary shopkeeper Con O’Leary before his death in 2024 – on the day of the EuroMillions Plus draw on January 27.
The €500k prize was collected by a Kerry woman at the National Lottery HQ in Dublin this week, who explained she bought her numbers on impulse whilst visiting relatives in Cork.
Later that evening, she scanned the ticket on her app and spotted a large message that read: “You’ve won big, contact the National Lottery,” reports Cork Beo.
She said: “Surprisingly, I was very calm, although at first I had no idea what I’d won, so there was a bit of scrolling and scrambling through the draw results to figure it out!”.
The National Lottery always recommends that winners store their tickets somewhere secure to ensure there’s no anxiety about losing them.
And this Kerry woman’s partner took matters one step further – by concealing it so effectively that even he couldn’t locate it. On the same night, he had to dismantle the cupboard until he finally found the ticket.
He confessed that the last thing he wanted was to inform his partner about the missing ticket. Only after ensuring the ticket’s safety did he reveal the close call, and together they chose a new hiding place – their sock drawer.
While it’s a sensible choice, it’s far from the most unusual. One Limerick couple who buried their winning Lotto ticket in their garden after discovering they’d bagged a cool €5.5m.
The woman from Kerry disclosed that they’re planning a grand overseas holiday following their recent windfall. She shared: “We’re heading to Asia to do some travelling. It’s been on our bucket list for so long, so we can’t wait to finally book it!”.
This marks the second significant Lotto prize won from a Cork ticket in recent times. Just last week, another Cork woman scooped up a €100k Lotto prize and revealed her plans to use her winnings to book the holiday of her dreams.
In other news, a Dublin man also claimed a hefty €500k this week from the same EuroMillions Plus draw on January 27. He confessed that he overlooked the email notifying him about the win and only discovered his fortune after checking the app.
He said: “I got up earlier than usual that particular Wednesday morning and after ignoring the email the night before about my win, I decided to log in to the app and check what I had won. I never expected to see €500,000 in the little green box! I was the only one in the house up at 6am, well it was myself and the dog.
“He was next to me looking for a treat and there I was trying to tell him about my big win. I ran upstairs immediately to wake my wife and tell her. She definitely didn’t mind being woken up with that news! I showed her the ticket and the two of us were slightly unsure of what to do next – it’s not every day that you start your morning being €500,000 better off!”.
The lucky chap and his missus are taking their time to let the win sink in before making any final decisions on how to spend the windfall – but they’re already considering embarking on a cruise trip together.
