A woman who went into the National Lottery offices in Dublin on Friday morning to claim what she thought was a €20,000 scratch card win left the building an ecstatic woman with a cheque for €180,000 more than she had bargained for.
When the Dublin mother-of-three scratched her card she knew she had won big but failed to register a somewhat crucial zero on the card and only realised her €20,000 win was a €200,000 windfall when she came to National Lottery headquarters to cash in her prize.
The single mother bought the scratchcard in Spar in Summerhill Parade, Dublin, en route to picking up one of her children from school.
"I went outside and scratched the card and saw what I thought was €20,000," she said. "I was so excited I called my mother and we decided to come straight here to the National Lottery office to cash it in. My first thought was that I could go on a sun holiday with the kids. I have never been further than Scotland before."
To her disbelief, after checking the scratchcard, a National Lottery claims official broke the news that she had in fact won 10 times the amount she thought.
“I went weak at the knees with excitement,” she said. She joked that maybe she should have glasses.
The lucky winner and her mother were joined in the “winners room” by her father, who lives close by.
“We are a down-to-earth, working-class family who have been based in the inner city for generations,” the winner’s father said. “We are delighted at this win, which will make a huge difference to my daughter who is always thinking of others and looking out for people. She deserves to get something back.”
The woman said apart from a holiday she would build a small extension on her house. “It will take a few days for all of this to sink in.”
A National Lottery spokeswoman said all players should read their card carefully after scratching them.
“There was a great buzz in the office when we were able to give the happy news to our player that her win was actually 10 times more than she initially thought.”
