A GROUP of Dublin men is claiming an £11 million win in last Saturday's lottery draw in Britain. The men, who are well known in their local communities in the city, have been celebrating with friends and relatives since Saturday. However, they have not yet produced the ticket to claim the money.
There were two winners of the British lottery jackpot of £21.8 million on Saturday. One ticket holder, from Blackpool, came forward to claim his winnings on Tuesday.
But Camelot, the British lottery organisers, says the holder of the second ticket has not yet come forward.
Friends of the Dublin men say they were on a trip to Liverpool when they decided to enter the British lottery. Some of them bought tickets and one matched the winning numbers.
The men, some from well known families in Dublin's inner city, are now said to be trying to determine who should travel to Britain to claim the cash.
Camelot refused to say yesterday where the second winning ticket had been bought. A spokeswoman said the lottery's rules prohibit disclosure of any details of winners unless the people concerned agree to go public.
The winners have six months from the date of the draw to claim the cash. Previously, no winner has waited longer than a week before coming forward, according to Camelot.
There have been a number of Northern Irish jackpot winners but most have not gone public. Of the major prizewinners in Britain and Northern Ireland, fewer than 25 per cent have agreed to publicity, the lottery organisers said.
If the Dublin men's claim proves accurate they would be the first winners of the jackpot from the Republic.