A MAN who won £407k on the lottery convinced himself that he would only get £200 after bagging another jackpot just months before.
Gerry Dragoonis, 65, was over the moon after scooping the whopping sum on the People’s Postcode Lottery last week.
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The lucky grandad from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, bagged £407,032 after the G75 0DH postcode came up trumps in the weekly Millionaire Street prize.
The rest of the £1million winnings have been shared among other Postcode Lottery players in the neighbourhood.
But Gerry was convinced his prize would be no more than £250, after a cousin landed that amount a few years ago.
He said: “I didn’t expect this. I thought it would be £200 or £250.
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“I only got about two hours sleep last night thinking about it.”
Gerry also revealed that he won a classic Ford RS2000 in a competition last year but opted to take the £19,000 cash equivalent instead.
The lucky punter broke the news to wife Christine, 65, who was at an appointment during the presentation.
The dad-of-two and his wife want to help their children Marc, and Marie McLeod as well as four grandchildren with the mega prize pot.
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He said: “It will be nice to be able to help the family. Family comes first at the end of the day. As long as they’re OK and healthy.”
However, the builder and roofer – who runs a property maintenance firm with brothers Martin, 59, and Michael, 57 – said he is going straight back to work.
I won biggest postcode lottery prize… now I’m going to move into a caravan
The dad-of-two added: “I’m shocked. I don’t know what else I’ll do with it. I never thought I’d get this amount of money.
“Even though I’ve won this, I’ll still have to go to work this afternoon. I’ve got scaffold up on a job just now for a roof repair. The customer is away on holiday and is expecting the job to be finished when they get back.
He added: “I don’t drink, but we’ll go out for a meal to celebrate.
“We haven’t been on holiday for a number of years, maybe just a day here and there. We might go to Spain now.”
Gerry has a massive flock of around 120 birds.
And it’s about to get even bigger as he is seeking out another budgie for breeding.
Gerry won the prestigious ‘best in show’ award for the second time at the last Scottish Budgerigar Society Area Show in 2022
He said: “I used to breed budgies years ago, but family commitments got in the road. I got back into it about five years ago and I’ve maybe got about 120 birds at the moment.
“I could buy a certain bird to enhance the ones I’ve got. Bring new blood into the shed to improve the quality of the birds.”
East Kilbride based charity Achieve More Scotland has also been awarded £50,000 from Postcode Community Trust.
The charity delivers free programmes to improve young people’s physical and mental health.
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They run sports, physical activity, employability coaching and personal development sessions throughout schools and communities in areas of high social deprivation in the Glasgow region.
Paul Fletcher, CEO of Achieve More Scotland, said: “Community support and action is at the heart of everything we do and the money we’ve received from vital funding raised by the players of People’s Postcode Lottery will go directly to helping disadvantaged young people throughout Glasgow.”
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How does People’s Postcode Lottery work?
THERE is potential for players to win some big cash prizes with People’s Postcode Lottery – but how does it work?
People’s Postcode Lottery is an ongoing monthly subscription lottery where paid tickets are automatically entered into all of its prize draws.
Players can purchase up to three tickets to play in its draws, with each ticket based on their chosen postcode. It costs £12 per month to play.
Prizes are announced every single day – and 33 per cent of the ticket price goes to good causes.
Prizes include £1million shared in one winning postcode every Saturday, £30,000 for every winning ticket in one postcode every Sunday, and a multi-million-pound prize is shared in one postcode area each month.
This month, Meg won “An Unforgettable Year”, claiming £12,000 each month for a year. She can also choose from a range of once-in-a-lifetime experiences – in Britain or abroad.
The prize was promoted on behalf of the Postcode Support Trust which supports organisations including Missing People, Depaul UK and Royal Voluntary Service.
