Shop celebrates second win after selling €14m Lotto ticket

A SHOP in south Co Dublin yesterday celebrated its second major Lotto win with Saturday’s jackpot of over €14 million.

However, the new multi- millionaire yesterday remained a mystery to staff the Spar shop in Glenageary Shopping Centre where the winning ticket was sold.

The €4 quick pick ticket was purchased at the shop on Friday. It is the fifth largest jackpot win in Lotto history.

“We don’t have a clue who it was and I haven’t even heard any speculation,” Mark Cox, manager of the shop, said yesterday.

“There was a fair bit of excitement this morning. The word is out and we are getting some phone calls, but it is still fairly quiet,” Mr Cox said.

Mr Cox said the shop was busy with people buying tickets on Friday and all week, with the build-up to the €58 million Euromillions draw and the €14 million Lotto jackpot.

Customers included local people, nearby workers, commuters and passers-by as the shop is located at the main Dún Laoghaire roundabout in Sallynoggin. Mr Cox said a much smaller Lotto jackpot prize was won by a customer at the shop a few years ago.

The shop was bought by the current owners almost 20 years ago. A Lottery spokeswoman hoped the winner would contact the office today or later this week but said they have up to 90 days to claim the prize.

The jackpot had rolled over several times since St Patrick’s Day before being won on Saturday. Up to 1,800 tickets a minute were sold in the run-up to Saturday’s draw. An estimated 60 per cent of players bought their tickets on Saturday. The largest Lotto jackpot to date of almost €19 million was won by a syndicate of 16 men in a Carlow construction company last June.