Earlier this month, a British couple won £105 million (R1,9 Billion in South Africa) in the Euro Millions Lottery. The couple has now been revealed as Steve and Leneka Thomson, from Selsey, in West Sussex. The couple, Mr. Thomson, 42, is a builder and owns a home improvement company whilst Mrs. Thomson, 41, is a shop assistant in Selsey, are now the ninth-biggest winners in the lottery history.
Steve Thomson, who’s been playing the lottery regularly for 25 years realised that he had won the lottery whilst waiting to be picked up for work. “'I am not sure, I even looked at the first two lines, the third one just jumped out and I could instantly tell they all matched. I started shaking a lot. I knew it was a really big win but didn't know what to do”, uttered Steve Thompson.
Mr. Thomson was in shock when he realised that he had just won the €105 million payout. He said, “I was a shaking, gibbering wreck. I walked around the living room a few times, I went out to the van, I went back in, it was five minutes of madness then I decided to go and tell Lenka.”
The couple who lived in a £120,000 terraced house with their 3 kids, are planning on buying a new house with a room for each of their children. Mr. Thomson said his children were extremely happy about the win. “My eldest son’s reaction was, 'Dad, can I have my own room?' I said, 'no problem, of course, you can son’. My middle son said, 'Can I have a Tesla', and my daughter asked for a pink iPhone and she's going to get that,” said Mr. Thomson.
Mrs. Thomson, who is originally from Slovakia, was planning a Christmas holiday for the family before they won the £105 million windfall. The money will now help towards their Christmas holiday and annual trips to Slovakia to visit Mrs. Thomson’s family. “Our annual holidays have always been to see my family in Slovakia and each year we start saving for the next one as soon as we come home. Not only can I treat my family and see them more often, but we can also look to have other holidays, perhaps somewhere hot with a beach,” explained Mrs. Thompson.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomson do not plan on leaving Selsey or quitting their day jobs. The couple is excited about their win and have pledged to be “sensibly generous” with their winnings. Mr. Thomson stated, “It's so much money, I am going to be generous.” For now, however, the couple are just focused on their new home and providing each of their children with their own rooms.
Mr. Thomson bought his winning ticket at a local Newsagent/Post Office. Owner of the store, Kandarp Patel, said to Mr. Thomson when he came to buy the ticket, “Here you go, are those your winning numbers for the £105 million jackpot? No, Kan, he said. If I win it then I'll let you know. He just walked off. He obviously didn't know at the time that he had the winning numbers so it must have come as a big, big shock”, said the store owner.
The couple has maintained that this win will not define or change who they are. Mr. Thomson said, “I am not going to flutter it away, at the end of the day I am still Steve, I do not want to change. We are just financially better off and so will a number of other people.” Mr. Thomson’s parents did not believe that he had won the EuroMillions lottery when he called them to give them the news. However, after seeing the couple on TV, they have certainly changed their minds since.
The couple won £105,100,701.90 from a single ticket. Their winning numbers are 08, 10, 15, 30 and the lucky star numbers 04 and 06.
Mr. Thomson is the sixth massive Euro Millions winner this year.
You could be the next massive winner too. Place your bets on LottoStar’s EuroMillions which draws every Tuesday and Friday, at 9 pm.
