I would have lost ENTIRE £100k lotto jackpot if wasn’t for sneaky online button – I’d been ignoring my account for days
A BAR manager would have lost an entire £100,000 jackpot if it wasn’t for a sneaky online button.
Dan Cater, 39, from Lichfield, scooped the cash by playing Monopoly Gold on The National Lottery app.
The dad-of-four was struggling to sleep following a boozy night out so decided to use £2.50 from a previous win on his phone’s Lotto app.
Dan explained: “I don’t play The National Lottery all that often. I have won the odd thirty quid here and there.
“I decided to put £5 on my account and play EuroMillions and when I didn’t win anything there I thought I’d try one of the Instant Win Games with the remaining £2.50.
“I played Monopoly Gold and won £5 and just left it there. Over the next couple of days I had a go here and there.
“I had been around my neighbours with the family and after having a few drinks and playing some games my wife and the kids went back home.
“I couldn’t sleep so had another go on my phone while sitting in bed and then noticed the message on the screen.
“I kept looking and looking and then I started screaming ‘I have won!’
“My wife Kayleigh then started screaming too. We just couldn’t believe it!”
The first thing Dan and his wife Kayleigh, 38, did was to knock on the door of the neighbours they had seen earlier.
There was no answer so they called them.
Dan said: “I couldn’t speak properly and our neighbours didn’t understand what was going on.
“At one point they said ‘just call an ambulance if you aren’t well?’.
“Kayleigh finally grabbed the phone and explained what had happened.”
The duo met their neighbours outside and then sat in their garden chatting about the experience while sipping a bottle of prosecco.
How to enter £2.50 Monopoly Gold Instant Win Game
The National Lottery's app provides access to a number of instant win games.
In order to play, download the app from the Google Play Store on Android devices or the App Store on Apple phones.
After registering and proving you’re over 18, you can play the Lotto’s instant win games.
The list of games on the app is different to those available on the web, however.
Games available on the app include the £250,000 Jackpot Multiplier, £10,000 Bingo, and £1 Million Jackpot, among others.
Entry prices for the games range from just 25p up to £5.
If you wish to play Instant Win Games in the app, you may on occasion need to download a feature in order to play the game with full animation.
You will only need to download the feature once for each new game you want to play.
The app is often updated in order to ensure its security, according to The National Lottery.
However, this does mean that some older operating systems are no longer compatible with the latest version of The National Lottery app.
Dan added: “Considering I’m a barman I still struggled to pour without spilling I was shaking that much.”
The next day at 9am on the dot Dan called The National Lottery to claim his prize.
Everything was confirmed but the couple didn’t tell anyone else besides their neighbours as they still couldn’t quite believe it.
The timings of the win couldn’t have been better.
Winning just feels brilliant and it means I have some financial security for my family.
Dan Cater
Dan, who works at The Acorn pub in Lichfield, was off at the weekend to celebrate the couple’s sixth wedding anniversary.
The couple have four young children including three girls and a boy.
Dan and Kayleigh have lots of plans on how to spend the money.
They immediately went out and bought lots of technology.
The pair also want to treat their children to a trip to Disneyland Paris and then use the rest for a deposit on a house after renting for many years.