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| EuroMillions winners bought £61m ticket after lifesaving cancer surgery | |
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| A family syndicate from Wales has won a £61m lottery jackpot after buying a ticket because they felt like “the luckiest people on the planet” after one of them had lifesaving cancer surgery. | A family syndicate from Wales has won a £61m lottery jackpot after buying a ticket because they felt like “the luckiest people on the planet” after one of them had lifesaving cancer surgery. |
| Sonia Davies, 53, called her daughter Stephanie, 23, to urge her to buy the ticket last Friday, two days after undergoing surgery in Florida to remove a tumour on her parathyroid gland. | Sonia Davies, 53, called her daughter Stephanie, 23, to urge her to buy the ticket last Friday, two days after undergoing surgery in Florida to remove a tumour on her parathyroid gland. |
| Having been told by doctors that the surgery had saved her life, she felt she was “on a winning streak”, she told a press conference in Newport on Wednesday. “I felt like I had cheated death. You just think, OK, we’ll buy a lottery ticket, because I feel so lucky. | Having been told by doctors that the surgery had saved her life, she felt she was “on a winning streak”, she told a press conference in Newport on Wednesday. “I felt like I had cheated death. You just think, OK, we’ll buy a lottery ticket, because I feel so lucky. |
| She “didn’t for a minute” think she would win, she said, but nonetheless had the sense of “someone shining down on you”. | She “didn’t for a minute” think she would win, she said, but nonetheless had the sense of “someone shining down on you”. |
| The two women will share the rollover jackpot of £61,102,442.90 with Sonia’s other daughter, Courtney, 19, Sonia’s partner, Keith Reynolds, 55, and Stephanie’s partner, Steve Powell, 30. | The two women will share the rollover jackpot of £61,102,442.90 with Sonia’s other daughter, Courtney, 19, Sonia’s partner, Keith Reynolds, 55, and Stephanie’s partner, Steve Powell, 30. |
| Sonia Davies said it had been a “rollercoaster of a week”. “I had my operation on Wednesday and until then we didn’t know how serious it was. They told me that if it hadn’t been removed it would have been fatal – and at the very least I would have lost my voice within a year. | Sonia Davies said it had been a “rollercoaster of a week”. “I had my operation on Wednesday and until then we didn’t know how serious it was. They told me that if it hadn’t been removed it would have been fatal – and at the very least I would have lost my voice within a year. |
| “They managed to give me the all-clear straight after the operation, so as you can imagine we were on cloud nine.” She said her partner had been scanning his emails and learned about the EuroMillions rollover. | “They managed to give me the all-clear straight after the operation, so as you can imagine we were on cloud nine.” She said her partner had been scanning his emails and learned about the EuroMillions rollover. |
| “He was convinced that we were the luckiest people on the planet and definitely on a winning streak after the success of my op … something told us we needed to get a ticket – and the rest is history.” | |
| Stephanie Davies, a sales executive, said she had thought her mother was “mad” to call from Florida, where the couple were also having a holiday. “But they were so insistent I knew we had to do it.” | Stephanie Davies, a sales executive, said she had thought her mother was “mad” to call from Florida, where the couple were also having a holiday. “But they were so insistent I knew we had to do it.” |
| She bought six Lucky Dip tickets at a garage near the family home in Monmouth, close to the Welsh-English border, but forgot to check the numbers until early on Sunday morning, when she retired to bed telling her boyfriend: “If I shout down, it means we’ve won the lottery, and if not I’ve gone to bed.” | She bought six Lucky Dip tickets at a garage near the family home in Monmouth, close to the Welsh-English border, but forgot to check the numbers until early on Sunday morning, when she retired to bed telling her boyfriend: “If I shout down, it means we’ve won the lottery, and if not I’ve gone to bed.” |
| She then looked on her iPad and realised one of their tickets had all the numbers. | She then looked on her iPad and realised one of their tickets had all the numbers. |
| “I came back downstairs to find Steve and couldn’t take my hand away from my mouth in shock. I kept saying, ‘We’ve won, and I’m not joking.’ I could see Steve was trying to read me to see whether I was telling the truth, but I was so emotional, he decided to check. And he checked again. We giggled. We memorised the numbers and checked again. We checked the draw date again.” | |
| Seized “in a crazy moment” with an irrational panic that the ticket might disappear, they took selfies with the winning ticket, before locking all the doors and windows in case someone could hear they had won, she said. “Suddenly you realise that you have this piece of paper in your hand and it’s worth £61m.” | Seized “in a crazy moment” with an irrational panic that the ticket might disappear, they took selfies with the winning ticket, before locking all the doors and windows in case someone could hear they had won, she said. “Suddenly you realise that you have this piece of paper in your hand and it’s worth £61m.” |
| The first phone call was to her mother and Reynolds, who were about to board their plane home. “I thought she’d told me she’d lost her dog,” said Sonia. “Then I heard Steve shouting, ‘We’ve won £61m!’” | The first phone call was to her mother and Reynolds, who were about to board their plane home. “I thought she’d told me she’d lost her dog,” said Sonia. “Then I heard Steve shouting, ‘We’ve won £61m!’” |
| They called her sister Courtney and, at 5.20am and unable to sleep, rang lottery organisers Camelot to claim their prize. The winning numbers were 1, 21, 26, 40, 50 and Lucky Stars 2 and 4. | They called her sister Courtney and, at 5.20am and unable to sleep, rang lottery organisers Camelot to claim their prize. The winning numbers were 1, 21, 26, 40, 50 and Lucky Stars 2 and 4. |
| Sonia Davies and Reynolds, who described their trip home from Florida as “the longest flight of our life”, said they were hoping to share their winnings of £12,200,488.58 each with family and friends, but would also like a new oak-framed carport for their home near Ross-on-Wye. | Sonia Davies and Reynolds, who described their trip home from Florida as “the longest flight of our life”, said they were hoping to share their winnings of £12,200,488.58 each with family and friends, but would also like a new oak-framed carport for their home near Ross-on-Wye. |
| Younger daughter Courtney, a student at the University of Southampton, plans to finish her degree in psychology before deciding what to do next, but said she wanted to replace her VW Fox and to buy an electric toothbrush – a £50 luxury she had always coveted but felt unable to justify. Her boyfriend Kieran, also a student, has “high expectations” about his upcoming 21st-birthday gift. | |
| For Stephanie and her partner, the priorities were decorating the home they bought together at Christmas, and a trip to the Caribbean. Fighting back tears while talking to reporters, Stephanie said: “It’s just so much to take in. It doesn’t seem real. There are so many emotions coming through.” |