I won £500k Thunderball prize after I made a change to my day – it's the reason I won… here's what I'll spend my cash on | The Sun
A LUCKY lotto winner has revealed how he will spend his cash after a small change to his day meant he raked in £500,000.
Jeff Etherington, 65, said that he scooped the mega Thunderball jackpot because he was in "the right place at the right time" through an odd twist of fate.
Jeff, from Harlow, Essex, only bought the ticket when he did on January 11 because he had swapped onto an early shift at his job as a machine setter so he could go to a hospital appointment that day.
His decision to pop into the supermarket after seeing his doctor proved more fruitful than he could have possible imagined.
He said: "I’ve always believed that one day I would win big. It’s taken 28 years but here we are, I’m heading into retirement with £500,000 extra to my name.
"I can’t help thinking it’s fate, had I not swapped shifts for that hospital appointment, I wouldn’t have been buying my Lucky Dip ticket at that exact moment and some other lucky person might now be celebrating instead!"
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First on Jeff's list of spending priorities is finally tying the knot with his beloved fiancee Kim, 60.
The pair are parents to five and grandparents to eight but could never find the time of money to make matters official.
Jeff added: "We’ve been together for six years, and finally got engaged in 2021. We always knew we would get married eventually but the money was always spent on something else. Now that ‘eventually’ wedding can happen imminently!"
Beyond that most important of bucket list items, Jeff has a few more thing he might like to spend the money on.
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He said: "I’m sure in time we will get the hang of being National Lottery winners but at the moment, we’re hard pushed to think of a ‘must do’.
"We’ve both replaced our cars relatively recently, we’ve had our home redecorated and a new kitchen fitted, the bathroom is booked to be renovated next month and we had already booked and paid for our holiday to Lanzarote, it’s almost like we knew we were going to win!"
A keen fisherman he also considered a trip for Hawaii on the hunt for marlin, but instead decided to treat himself and Kim to a stay at a luxury lodge, complete with a hot tub on the deck.
Recalling the winning moment, he said he barely even realised what had happened at the time.
He explained: "I was pretty absent minded about it but as I saw the winning Thunderball numbers online they all seemed familiar and as I ticked each one off I realised we’d won. I turned to Kim and said ‘We’ve won £500,000’ she responded by telling me to go away, but in quite colourful language!
"I was convinced it must be a joke but the logical part of my brain kept telling me it was a real ticket so must be a real win, using the same logic I decided to check The National Lottery app.
"Scanning my ticket the app told me the results were not yet available, I must have scanned it about 100 times until suddenly it pinged and £500,000 popped up in the window."
He messaged a few friends and colleagues to share the happy news the next morning.
By the time he got into work, word had spread and he was greeted by clapping and cheering from his delighted co-workers.
It comes after it was revealed that a EuroMillions winner splashed £100,000 a week as he blew through £40 million in just eight years.
Another lucky couple, meanwhile, celebrated their jackpot win in a unique way.
Bruce Carter and Emiliana Kaftan, from Quesnel in Canada, decided the first purchases with their £1.6 million winnings would be a KFC bucket and a fishing trip.
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However, not everyone's lotto story has a happy ending.
One son even smashed up his dad's car with a hammer after his old man refused to share his new fortune.
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