48-Year-Old Man Wins £1 Million National Lottery, Shares With Family After Watching Football And Having Tea

The 48-year-old, Paul McDonald decided to make a cup of tea and watch football first before telling his family that he won over £1 million lotto prize in the National Lottery on Dec. 12.

The father-of-two believes that it is his reward for keeping his promise to his youngest daughter of decorating their family home in Bexhill, England with tinsel and lights for the upcoming Christmas.

McDonald spent his Sunday afternoon carrying out his daughter’s request. He had just finished the decoration when he checked his emails and saw a message congratulating him on his win. He initially assumed that it was a Lucky Dip, a randomly-generated entry which the lottery terminal selects for you, or a prize worth £30 ($40), but then he logged into his account and saw the enormous prize amounting to £1,063,516 ($1,419,698).

McDonald said, "I’d like to pretend I leapt about celebrating but instead I logged out, shut down the computer, made myself a cup of tea and watched the football for five minutes. I think it was my way of dealing with the surprise but a slurp of tea and a bit of football kick-started me again. I then logged back into the account about 30 times, each time expecting it to disappear but always seeing the same winning amount."

Instead of telling his partner and two daughters immediately, the 48-year-old distribution worker decided to effortlessly turn off his computer, prepare tea and sit to watch a football match. He kept the news to himself for quite a while so he could take it all in while he watched the game.

"It’s crazy, one minute you’re battling with extension leads and focused on putting up the Christmas lights, hoping to make it to the second half of the local Christmas panto to see your youngest’s performance, the next you’re a millionaire! I’ve worked all my life, I’m proud to be a grafter from a family of grafters, so to suddenly discover on a Sunday evening that I’ve won more money than most people earn in a lifetime is taking some time for the analytical side of my brain to absorb. The other part of my brain, the dreamer and adventurous side, is all over the win!" he continued.

He later took a screengrab of the £1,063,516 ($1,419,698) and showed to his partner. She hilariously misread it as £1,063, "Great, we can get the bathroom done."

He also recalled how he logged back into the account about 30 times, still astonished each time he saw the winning amount. He shared his plan on how to enjoy Christmas with his family and friends. McDonald does not plan to give up his job but intends to spend the money on family trips.

He bought his £1,063,516 ($1,419,698) winning ticket for the Must Be Won draw Saturday, Dec. 11 on the National Lottery website, and the lucky numbers were 6, 13, 14, 15, 31, 33 with bonus ball 38.