A UK couple who have won £1 million in the EuroMillions for the second time “just can’t believe it”.
David and Kathleen Long from Scunthorpe, who won their first £1 million in 2013, scooped the big money prize again on Friday night, beating odds of more than 283 billion to one.
But Mr Long said he “just knew it would be my turn again some day” as the couple become the first people to win £1 million twice who have gone public.
The pair, then known as David Long and Kathleen MacKenzie, previously banked£1,000,000 in the EuroMillions Millionaire Raffle draw on Friday July 26 2013.
Mr Long said: “I always knew I’d win, even the first time. I just had a feeling it was going to be me. I tend to play when I know there are lots of prizes on the go.
“Last time I knew I had a good chance because there were 100 prizes of £1 million.
“Last Friday night I was passing the local shop and saw there were 10 £1 million prizes on EuroMillions and a nice car and thought yeah I’ll give that a go.
“Got to be worth a few lines and I got five using my usual numbers.
“On Saturday morning I sat down in front of our telly and started checking the numbers. On one line I’d matched two numbers and one star to get £7.20 and thought that’s all right.
“Then I checked the raffle codes- something I’ve learnt to do automatically since winning last time. After a few moments I very calmly called Kath in and said ‘Have a look at this. It’s there. Look. Read that line’.”
Mr Long said his wife checked the television and went online, adding: “Then she went up right close to our television on the wall, put on her glasses and stared really hard at the raffle numbers. It seemed ages and then she finally said: ‘You said you’d do it again and you have!’ Everything has been a blur ever since.
“It’s definitely taking longer to sink in this time!”
The couple also won a luxury car.
Two years ago, Mr Long, who was working as a HGV driver for a local transportbusiness in Scunthorpe, nearly missed out on the big win altogether.
He thought he had won just £2.70 and with the ticket in the bin he nearly did not bother to claim the winnings.
At the last moment he decided to take the ticket out with him as he needed a newspaper.
“I had to fish the ticket out of the bin that time and found when I got to the shop that it was worth a heck of a lot more.
“That win was fantastic and couldn’t have come at a better time. Times had been really tough and I had been really ill for three years, unable to work leading up to it.
“I lasted three days at work and then took early retirement. We’ve had an amazing 18 months, have been able to treat the family, buy a new car and even finally get hitched – after being engaged for 12 years.
“But I always told everyone that I’m gonna do it again. I just knew it would be my turn again some day. Now it has and we just can’t believe it,” he said.
Mr Long says he is not a fan of travelling abroad and hates the idea of flying, but he feels it is time to book a cruise.
“Kath and I had a fantastic wedding last year but we never took a honeymoon because I’m just not keen on the idea of flying. Kath would love me to book a Mediterranean cruise and I think I have just run out of excuses,” he joked.
A Camelot spokesman said: “This is an extraordinary situation where somebody’sbeen fortunate enough to win twice.
“As you can imagine, we see winners who win once who are very, very shocked. It must be even more shocking to win twice.”
While there are rumours that other people have won big sums of money twice but opted to remain anonymous, winning £1 million twice is highly unlikely.
Events that bookmaker William Hill believes have odds of a million to one – a lot smaller than 283 billion to one – include David Cameron winning the 100 metres at the 2016 Olympic Games, Jeremy Clarkson riding the winner of the Grand National, and the royal baby captaining the England football, cricket and rugby sides and also winning Wimbledon.
According to Ladbrokes, there is more chance of Simon Cowell becoming prime minister at any time with odds of 10,000/1, Elvis being found alive this year at 50,000/1, England to win the next three World Cups at 2,500/1, and the royal baby being called Wayne at 500/1.
A spokesman for the bookmaker said: “Given the odds suggest it’s far more likely Elvis is found alive this year, it’s fair to say this couple have the lucky touch.”
Meanwhile, a UK ticketholder won last night’s £53 million EuroMillions jackpot but has yet to claim the prize.
This is the 10th biggest EuroMillions jackpot to be won in the UK.