A DAD thought he’d won a tidy £1,000 on the National Lottery but got a rather nice surprise when he double checked it.
Dad-of-five Robert Cameron, 53, matched five numbers and the Bonus Ball in the Lotto draw on July 30 with a Lucky Dip that he initially forgot to buy.
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He bought his ticket in Asda in Maryhill, Glasgow, the day before and said “the stars aligned”.
The next day he went down to feed the fish and thought he misread the winnings as he was half asleep.
He plans to buy a new pad and a Range Rover, and take his family away on holiday.
Robert said: “I’ve played the National Lottery since it began but hadn’t bought a ticket for a year or so.
“I always thought it would never happen to me but when I passed the counter, I thought of the recent EuroMillions jackpot winner from the UK.
“I never normally carry cash but, as fate would have it, I had £4 of change in my pocket so I thought I would try my luck for the draw that night.
“When I checked my ticket the next day, I had won £3.70. I had a bit of a chuckle to myself thinking that’s all I’d ever win but my mum always used to say, ‘a win leads to a win’.
“She always told us if you win something, take it and put it into something else so I decided I’d follow her advice and use my winnings to buy two Lucky Dips for that night’s Lotto draw.”
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But after a busy day out, Robert got back home and put his feet up only to realise he had forgotten to buy his tickets.
He said: “I’d just got settled in for the night when I remembered I hadn’t gone to the shop for the tickets.
“Then I got a call from my youngest son asking if I would go and pick him up.
“I decided seeing as I was heading back out again anyway, I may as well nip into Asda and get the Lucky Dips.
“And I’m so glad I did.”
Being dad’s taxi paid off for Robert when he checked the tickets the next morning.
He said: “I just went about my usual routine – fed the fish, got a cup of tea and then thought I better check those tickets.
“I always check on the app and of course the same congratulations message popped up as the day before with my £3.70 win.
“I expected to see something similar and when I looked at first, I thought it said £1,000.
“I was still half asleep, so I looked again and thought ‘no it’s £100,000’.
“It took a third look for me to realise I was a millionaire. I even Googled the winning numbers to double check.”
He then called the National Lottery Line to verify the ticket and check that he had won £1m.
He said: “The lady I spoke to was lovely, but I had to wait a minute or so while she checked everything out.
“It was the longest minute.
“Hearing her say those words – that I had actually won £1,000,000 – was so surreal.”
The first person Robert told was his youngest son but it took a while to convince him it was true.
Robert said: “I have a great relationship with my four sons, but I am always joking with them so when I told my youngest he didn’t believe me at first.
“It took me half an hour to convince him it was real.
“I couldn’t quite believe it myself. I think I’m still in shock.”
“I was then worried about keeping the ticket safe and making sure I didn’t lose it, so I put it inside a picture frame behind the photo.
“I didn’t even want to leave the house with the ticket still sitting there.
“I want to be thoughtful with how I use the money and do things that will be good for my family.
“I am so grateful I followed my mum’s advice – I feel like my luck was thanks to her looking down on me.”
Robert’s winning numbers for the Lotto draw on July 30 were 07, 16, 17, 19,33 and the Bonus Ball was 12.
The other main ball drawn was 57.
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
