I won £418,000 lottery prize but only took home FOURTEENTH when colleagues jumped in – phone call sent me into overdrive
A LOTTERY winner has told how he had to share a whopping £418,000 jackpot with his 13 colleagues.
Last month Seamus Buckley hit a jackpot just short of a half a million pounds whilst playing the EuroMillions Plus draw.
But instead of pocketing the full amount he only took home a fourteenth of the big win.
Seamus had entered the draw as part of a syndicate with his colleagues at Munster Joinery in Cork, Ireland.
This meant he would have to split his win with thirteen other members, leaving him just short of £30,000 — a fraction of the big jackpot.
Syndicate leader, Seamus Buckley, revealed how his simple work group chat quickly turned chaotic after he broke the news.
Seamus said: “I’ve been collecting the money and buying our tickets for 13 years.
“The morning after the draw, I saw on social media that the shop where I bought our ticket had sold a winner.
“Our group chat went into overdrive. Everyone was asking, could it be us?”
Seamus wasted no time heading to the shop to confirm their win, but his colleagues weren’t convinced.
He said: “I rang the group, and some of them didn’t believe me at all.”
“I’ve a reputation as a bit of a joker, but I wouldn’t mess about with something like this – I’d be in trouble at work on Monday if I lied.”
Seamus checked the ticket and was greeted with the life-changing words: “You’ve won big, contact the National Lottery.”
But instead of pocketing the full amount himself, the jackpot had to be split among his co-workers.
What is a lottery syndicate?
A lottery syndicate is a group of lottery players who pool their resources to buy multiple tickets, increasing their chances of winning. The costs and winnings are shared among all members. Syndicates can be formed online or with friends, family, or colleagues.
Setting Up a Syndicate:
Syndicate Agreement: A formal agreement is recommended to avoid disputes and tax issues. It outlines the structure and management of the syndicate.
Syndicate Manager Responsibilities:
– Maintain the syndicate agreement.
– Ensure each player has paid for their tickets.
– Purchase tickets and check for prizes.
– Collect and distribute winnings among members.
Managing a Syndicate:
Number of Members/Tickets:There’s no limit to the number of members or tickets. More tickets increase winning chances, but also make management harder and winnings smaller per member.
Prize Distribution: Winnings are paid to the syndicate manager, who then distributes them. Online syndicates automate this process.
Legality:
Lottery syndicates are legal and a fun way to enhance your chances of winning. Ensure a syndicate agreement is in place for offline groups, or join an online group for secure and automated management of tickets and winnings.
The lottery winner explained how despite their huge win, the team were expected to quickly get back work.
Seamus said: “Things went back to normal very quickly. There’s still plenty of work to be done at Munster Joinery.”
The syndicate celebrated their £418,000 win at the National Lottery Headquarters in Dublin.
Each member took home just over £35,000, but this wasn’t their first taste of success.
The group has already won a combined £7,000 in four previous draws this year, but this is by far their biggest win.
Despite the excitement, Seamus and his colleagues are keeping their eyes on the ultimate prize, he added: “Oh yes, we’re still at it, we’ve our eyes on the big EuroMillions Jackpot next.”
This EuroMillions win comes after another couple boasted they had won a hefty £182million on the EuroMillions shortly before they were “disqualified” for a devastating reason.
Meanwhile, Seamus isn’t the only one having to split his big win – a mum has revealed how she couldn’t claim her entire £1million lottery jackpot because of a “pact” made 30 years ago.
Elsewhere, whilst many Brits’ dream of how they’d spend a lotto windfall, it seems not all winners are quite so eager to splash the cash.
One couple became overnight lottery millionaires after hitting The National Lottery jackpot but instead of blowing their wins on first class flights, they continued their normal life and went straight back to work.
What are my chances of winning the lottery?
EVERYONE wants to know how to beat the odds and win the lottery.
But unfortunately, the lottery is a game of luck and there are no tips or tricks that can guarantee you’ll take home a top prize.
The odds show how likely you are to win any particular prize – the lower the number, the better the odds.
For example, odds of 1 in 10 are better than odds of 1 in 100 or 1 in 1,000.
There are several major lottery games in the UK including Lotto by the National Lottery, Camelot’s EuroMillions and Thunderball.
Chances of winning the Lotto
Lotto by the National Lottery is a game where you pick six numbers from 1 to 59. You can play up to seven lines of numbers on each slip.
The game costs £2 to play per slip.
The odds of winning any prize on the Lotto are 1 in 9.3.
But to win the jackpot on the Lotto, the odds are considerably slimmer.
To bag the top prize, you need to have six matching balls. The odds of doing this and scooping the jackpot are currently 1 in 45,057,474.
The next highest prize of £1,000,000 is for getting five main matching balls plus the bonus ball.
The odds of taking home the million pound prize are 1 in 7,509,579 – far higher than the jackpot, but still unlikely.
The odds of taking home £1,750 for getting five main numbers without the bonus ball are 1 in 2,180, while you have a 1 in 97 chance of bagging £140 for getting four main numbers.
Your chances of taking home £30 for getting 3 main numbers are much better at 1 in 97.
And you have a roughly 1 in 10 chance of getting a free lucky dip for 2 matching numbers.
Chances of winning the EuroMillions
The EuroMillions costs £2.50 to play and is open on Tuesdays and Fridays.
To play, you must pick five numbers from 1-50 and two “Lucky Stars” from 1-12. Players with the most matching numbers win the top prizes.
Your chance of bagging the EuroMillions jackpot is even slimmer than winning the top Lotto prize.
This is because it generally has higher jackpots on offer, meaning it attracts more attention.
Currently, the odds of matching five numbers and two lucky stars – the top win – stand at 1 in 139,838,160.
The average jackpot prize is £57,923,499, according to EuroMillions.
The odds of winning the second top prize for matching 5 balls and a lucky star, which is typically around £262,346, are 1 in 6,991,908.
The chances of taking home the third prize for five matching balls, with an average payout of £26,277, are 1 in 3,107,515.
For four matching balls with two lucky stars, it’s 1 in 621,503, and for four balls with one lucky star, it’s 1 in 31,076. These come with an average prize of £1,489 and £95, respectively.
Chances of winning the Thunderball
Thunderball is another game run by National Lottery where you pick five numbers and one “Thunderball”. It costs just £1 to play and you can enter up to four times a week.
The jackpot of £500,000 for matching five balls plus the Thunderball is 1 in 8,060,598.
Your odds of bagging the next highest prize of £5,000 for matching five balls is currently 1 in 620,046, while the chances of winning £250 for four balls plus the Thunderball is 1 in 47,416.
You have the best chance of winning £3 for matching the Thunderball, with odds of 1 in 29.