Winning €500k Lotto ticket sold in Bandon

THE latest Cork Lotto winner of €500,000 can count himself extra lucky after his huge financial windfall.

The young man – who bought his ticket in West Cork – had left his winning ticket on a countertop and had forgotten all about until he found it a few weeks ago. 

He finally collected his Lotto Plus 1 top prize of €500,000 at the National Lottery offices last week.

The winning ticket was sold at Billy Cahalane’s Costcutter Service Station in Bandon in September and since then speculation was rife as to who was the lucky winner.

The young man who wishes to remain anonymous confided that he was overjoyed, if a little shocked, by the win.

‘I had absolutely no idea that I had won anything, let alone €500,000. I had completely forgotten that I had even bought a Lotto ticket that weekend,’ said the young man.

‘I checked it online when I found the ticket, and then sat in stunned silence, checking and rechecking the ticket for a very, very long time. I am just so relieved that the ticket wasn’t thrown out by mistake.’

‘I still haven’t fully digested the news and am finding it hard to think about what to do next. I would love to travel more and maybe, in the future, start my own business. That seemed like a pipedream just a couple of weeks ago, but suddenly after winning this prize, it’s a real possibility.’

The winning streak continued in West Cork when it was confirmed that one lucky punter scooped €225,612 in Clonakilty on October 31st. The winning ticket, a Lotto Match 5+ Bonus, was sold at Meade’s Newsagent on Pearse St in Clonakilty and so far no one has claimed the winning prize. 

‘We had no idea we sold a winning ticket until we opened the post last Monday and saw the big poster saying we sold a winning ticket. This is our first big winner in over 10 years,’ a delighted Grace Meade, owner of the shop, told The Southern Star.

‘It’s fantastic news for the shop, and this win has certainly given us a boost. We have no idea who bought the ticket, but we just hope that it will be claimed in time!’