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Cleaner sweeps up £1.2m bingo win | Cleaner sweeps up £1.2m bingo win |
(about 13 hours later) | |
A 38-year-old cleaner from South Lanarkshire has won what bingo bosses claim is the game's biggest ever win. | A 38-year-old cleaner from South Lanarkshire has won what bingo bosses claim is the game's biggest ever win. |
Mother-of-four Soraya Lowell, from Hamilton, scooped just under £1.2m at the Club 3000 bingo hall in Coatbridge. | |
National Bingo Game bosses said they believed Mrs Lowell's win on Sunday could be the biggest in the world. | |
She has pledged to give half of her winnings to her 68-year-old neighbour and bingo companion, Agnes O'Neill, who was there when she hit the jackpot. | |
Mrs Lowell said: "We always share whatever either of us wins and this time will be no different." | |
Mrs O' Neill added: "I have had a rough time the last three years - I have been very ill and Soraya has cared for me which meant my husband did not have to retire early. | |
"She has been wonderful to me. | |
"What she has done for me is absolutely something else." | |
Return to work | Return to work |
Mrs Lowell won the National Bingo Game and its Platinum Jackpot, netting £1,167,795. | Mrs Lowell won the National Bingo Game and its Platinum Jackpot, netting £1,167,795. |
Her win beats that of Christine Bradfield, from Merthyr Tydfil, who won £1.1m in January. | |
The bingo hall erupted when Mrs Lowell called house on the last number, 90. | The bingo hall erupted when Mrs Lowell called house on the last number, 90. |
Players jumped up and down cheering and shouting and the party continued through the night, as Mrs Lowell celebrated at her home with family and neighbours until 6am. | Players jumped up and down cheering and shouting and the party continued through the night, as Mrs Lowell celebrated at her home with family and neighbours until 6am. |
Despite her win, Mrs Lowell has vowed to return to work. | Despite her win, Mrs Lowell has vowed to return to work. |
This is my first ever win and it was worth waiting for Soraya Lowell | |
She said: "It just won't sink in yet. | She said: "It just won't sink in yet. |
"I haven't slept at all, but I will be back at work on Tuesday as usual. | "I haven't slept at all, but I will be back at work on Tuesday as usual. |
"I clean offices until 1.30am and I don't intend to give up my job. | "I clean offices until 1.30am and I don't intend to give up my job. |
"I like the girls I work with, and they have already told me not to pack it in." | "I like the girls I work with, and they have already told me not to pack it in." |
Mrs Lowell said her husband Frankie did not believe her when she telephoned him to break the news of her win. | |
"He handed the phone to our eldest daughter, who heard the shouting in the background and told him I was telling the truth," she added. | |
Mrs Lowell, who has been a member at the club since it opened 16 months ago, first went to bingo as a young child with her grandmother. | Mrs Lowell, who has been a member at the club since it opened 16 months ago, first went to bingo as a young child with her grandmother. |
"This is my first ever win and it was worth waiting for," she said. | "This is my first ever win and it was worth waiting for," she said. |
Second millionaire | Second millionaire |
She added that her three daughters, aged 13, 15 and 21, and her 19-year-old son had already offered to help her spend her winnings. | She added that her three daughters, aged 13, 15 and 21, and her 19-year-old son had already offered to help her spend her winnings. |
"They have all put in wee orders already," she said. | |
"The two oldest want convertibles and don't even have licences yet." | |
Steve Baldwin, communications manager for the National Bingo Game, said: "This is our second millionaire in eight weeks. | Steve Baldwin, communications manager for the National Bingo Game, said: "This is our second millionaire in eight weeks. |
"We aim to make more winners more often at bingo and love it when they are record-breaking. | "We aim to make more winners more often at bingo and love it when they are record-breaking. |
"We are thrilled for Soraya and look forward to presenting her with her record-breaking cheque." | "We are thrilled for Soraya and look forward to presenting her with her record-breaking cheque." |