A MUM-of-two who scooped £3.6million on the EuroMillions lottery says she already has enough money and doesn’t know what to spend her winnings on.
Celeste Coles, 69, from Birmingham, won £3,665,079.10 on July 12 this year, after buying a last-minute ticket.
6
6
6
The retired teacher, who was born in Barbados, got herself a ticket via The National Lottery App just moments before sales closed ahead of the draw.
She knew she was in for a “big win” when she realised she had matched five main numbers plus one Lucky Star.
Celeste said: “I play occasionally but that afternoon I received an email referring to the large EuroMillions jackpot that night and thought to myself I must get a ticket.
“Remembering just moments before the sales closed I got myself a Lucky Dip ticket.
“I didn’t think much of it and was about to go to bed when I remembered and thought I’d quickly check the draw results.
“One by one I ticked off the numbers, by the fifth main number I knew I’d won something big-ish, but then when I spotted I had also matched one of the Lucky Stars I knew I’d won something even bigger.”
Celeste, who says she has a “comfortable life”, is now wondering what to do with all that money and is considering buying a holiday home in Spain and going travelling.
She said: “I’ve always worked hard and now have a comfortable life, so there is nothing that I really want as such although I wouldn’t mind a holiday home in Spain, something I never thought would have been possible.
Most read in Money
“I also have some trips that I’d love to take. I’ve always wanted to go to South America, so a trip to Rio, Chile, Brazil and Argentina are definitely on the cards.
“I’d also like to go on a train trip through the Rocky Mountains – that’s a real bucket list dream that I can now hopefully tick off in the not too distant future.”
Celeste is unlikely to be making any rash decisions as she marked her good fortune with a glass of water and comfy sit down.
‘GLASS OF WATER & A SIT DOWN’
She said: “I’ve always been a pretty calm person, so there was no whooping from me, but I did decide a glass of water and a sit down was in order.
“Now I think about it, I was probably in shock and I still am. You never think it will really happen to you.”
Celeste, who has two adult daughters Rachel, 38, and Nicola, 32, immediately messaged Nicola and asked her to call as soon as possible.
The mum said: “I have two amazing daughters, Rachel is my oldest daughter and she has Down’s syndrome, and her younger sister is Nicola.
“When Nicola called I asked her to check my ticket for me. She read the draw results one by one, as I said… ‘yes…yes…yes’.
“Her reaction was brilliant, she said ‘mum, is this a scam?! Stop it, I don’t believe you!’ and insisted I send her a photo.”
After chatting for a while they both decided that nothing could be confirmed until Celeste could speak to Camelot when the phone lines opened in the morning and so she went to bed.
SLEEPLESS NIGHT
She said: “Needless to say, I didn’t sleep very much that night and called Camelot as soon as the lines opened.
“When the win was confirmed I finally let myself believe it was all real.”
Celeste already had a trip to Barbados in the pipeline and jetted off to see her family soon after the money hit her bank account.
She said: “The biggest thing for me is knowing that I now have financial security and that my girls will have a more comfortable life – especially Rachel.
“Bringing up a child with Down’s syndrome has been challenging at times but also rewarding.
“We have been supported by some excellent charities that have had an enormous impact on our lives.
“Pure and Midland Mencap in particular have been a great support and do brilliant work including giving Rachel the opportunity to work and integrate more fully with the community. I know that Midland Mencap has had National Lottery funding over the years too, which is amazing.”
Celeste’s winning EuroMillions numbers were: 14, 18, 24, 25, 50 and Lucky Star 11.
For the draw on July 12, the jackpot had reached its cap and couldn’t get any bigger.
When the jackpot is at its cap, money that would have gone into boosting the jackpot, is shared among players in the next prize tier instead.
The estimated prize for matching five main numbers and one Lucky Star is usually £130,554.30. Celeste’s prize was boosted to an impressive £3.6m.
6
6
6
