uA couple from Kendal, County Cumbria, won £3.6 million Euromillions (about €4.3 million) in the July 12 draw. But before buying his dream home, he ‘ran out’ to buy a back-scratching accessory – more expensive than usual.
“I bought a new back brace because I broke the old one at work. I bought one for 17 pounds (about 19 euros) instead of 8 (about 9.40 euros), Lee Kuczynski tells the BBC when asked about his first purchase after becoming one of the ‘totalizers’ of the Euro Millions.
“For the rest of us, we’re sitting here in a daze,” he was quoted as saying by ITV News.
The 52-year-old truck driver was working when his wife Helen, 58, called him. “Are you sitting down?” he asked at the time.
“I was driving, so I pulled over to the side of the road and she said, ‘We won the lottery'”, he recalled.
“At first I thought I could go home, so I called my boss who changed my route. I’ve been staying at home ever since,” he admits.
The executive was at home with his 21-year-old daughter when he received a ‘good news’ email. At first he thought it was a scam as he only had 40 pence in his account. He decided to wait 20 minutes before confirming its authenticity with the National Lottery. It was only then that she called Lee and was forced to ‘black out’ what she felt in order to continue working.
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“I had to process payroll, so I had to ignore what was going on,” he recalls.
After playing diligently, the pair hit all five numbers and one of the stars in the July 12 draw, winning a total of £3,665,079.10 (about €4,308,085.14).
Lee, who served in the military until 1995, also reveals that he can now operate on hernias. She never had the money to do it, and she couldn’t stop working.
And to celebrate Helen’s birthday, the couple bought their first home after a lifetime of renting. He also bought a new car. “We believe that we don’t become humans, but we can take care of ourselves and the people we love,” Lee says.
In fact, even though Helen wants to go on a shopping spree, she reveals that she will continue to look for ‘bargains’. “Maybe I’ll drag her out of Matalan and we’ll go to Marks & Spencer,” jokes her husband.
The announcement of the pair’s win came in the same week that a British totalist won a ‘super’ jackpot worth £195m (around €229m).
“I feel sorry for the person who won £195m because I was sunk by £3.6m!” Lee concludes.
Also Read: ‘Super’ EuroMillions Jackpot Dropped For UK Punter
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