A Centra store can claim to be one of the luckiest shops ever - having sold its second Lotto jackpot winning ticket in two years - a record the shop owner quipped “isn’t too bad”.
Celebrations are underway in Kilkenny after it was announced that Blanchfield’s Centra store on the Main Street in Mooncoin sold Saturday’s winning Lotto jackpot ticket worth €8,508,720.
The winning Quick Pick ticket was sold on the day of the draw, Saturday May 7.
Read More: Lotto mania hits Kilkenny town as location of winning €8.5m ticket emerges
While the focus in the aftermath of a draw is on the identity of the winner - this time the shop’s amazing good fortune is in the spotlight.
It is the second Lotto jackpot ticket which the store has sold in just over two years. In December 2019, the Mooncoin store sold a ticket worth over €6.8 million.
Shop owner Michael Blanchfield, who runs the store with his wife Alice, was both shocked and delighted to hear the news.
He said: “Twice in two and a half years isn’t too bad.
“Just before covid we sold a winning ticket for 6.8 m so I couldn’t believe it happened again.
“We know the ticket was sold on Saturday and was a quickpick - other than that that’s all we know. We hope it was somebody local who’ll put it to good use.
“There was communion last Saturday so there were lots of visitors around, hopefully it was one of our local customers who got it.
“I don’t think anybody has a clue at this stage. A lot of people are getting their tickets checked to be sure.
“Mooncoin is a close community and everybody is just hoping it’s somebody local who deserves it.”
He said: “After having a big Lotto jackpot win just over two years ago in our store, I never thought we’d have another but especially not so soon after – I am absolutely thrilled!
“This really is great news for the community as we’re a busy store so I’m sure as soon as the news goes out, there will be great excitement around the place.
“I imagine we will see lots of our customers eager to check their tickets and wondering if they’re the big winner. There’s a Mooncoin player out there with a ticket worth over €8.5 million – let’s hope they check their numbers soon!”
A Lotto spokesman said the Kilkenny jackpot winner, who is yet to come forward to claim their €8,508,720 prize, is advised to sign the back of their ticket and keep it safe.
The winner should contact the National Lottery prize claims team on 1800
666 222 or email claims@lottery.ie and arrangements will be made for them to claim their life-changing prize.
Saturday night’s €8.5 million jackpot winner has become the fourth Lotto jackpot winner of 2022 following wins by players in Mayo, Meath and Dublin.
The 7th May draw, which also saw a Waterford player scoop the top prize of €1 million in the Lotto Plus 1 draw, also saw the number of National Lottery millionaires for 2022 soar to 18 for the year to date.
The recent winners come after an unprecedented barren spell of no winners and constant rollovers.
The jackpot wasn’t won from June 2021 to January 2022 when in response to the public outcry, a special “will-be-won” draw took place.
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