A Glasgow man who recently scooped a £1 million win on the national lottery has said he owes his win to his late mum's advice.
Robert Cameron, 53, initially bought a ticket on Friday, July 29, at his local ASDA store in Maryhill. After checking, he realised he had won £3.70, and decided to take his late mum's advice to always re-invest winnings.
Robert had almost forgotten to go and buy what ended up being a very lucky ticket, but decided to nip in to the shop and try his luck again after his son called asking for a lift.
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“I’ve played the National Lottery since it began but hadn’t bought a ticket for a year or so. I always thought it would never happen to me but when I passed the counter, I thought of the recent EuroMillions jackpot winner from the UK.
"I never normally carry cash but, as fate would have it, I had £4 of change in my pocket so I thought I would try my luck for the draw that night.
“When I checked my ticket the next day, I had won £3.70. I had a bit of a chuckle to myself thinking that’s all I’d ever win but my mum always used to say, ‘a win leads to a win’.
"She always told us if you win something, take it and put it into something else so I decided I’d follow her advice and use my winnings to buy two Lucky Dips for that night’s Lotto draw.”
But after a busy day out, Robert got back home and put his feet up only to realise he had forgotten to buy his tickets.
“I’d just got settled in for the night when I remembered I hadn’t gone to the shop for the tickets. Then I got a call from my youngest son asking if I would go and pick him up.
"I decided seeing as I was heading back out again anyway, I may as well nip into Asda and get the Lucky Dips. And I’m so glad I did!”
Being 'dad’s taxi' paid off for father of five Robert when he checked the tickets the next morning.
“I just went about my usual routine – fed the fish, got a cup of tea and then thought I better check those tickets. I always check on the app and of course the same congratulations message popped up as the day before with my £3.70 win.
"I expected to see something similar and when I looked at first, I thought it said £1,000. I was still half asleep, so I looked again and thought ‘no it’s £100,000’. It took a third look for me to realise I was a millionaire.
"I even Googled the winning numbers to double check.”
After waking up properly, Robert called the National Lottery Line to verify his win.
He added: “The lady I spoke to was lovely, but I had to wait a minute or so while she checked everything out. It was the longest minute! Hearing her say those words – that I had actually won £1,000,000 – was so surreal.”
The first person Robert told was his youngest son, but the youngster didn't believe his dad at first.
Robert said: “I have a great relationship with my four sons, but I am always joking with them so when I told my youngest he didn’t believe me at first. It took me half an hour to convince him it was real. I couldn’t quite believe it myself.
"I think I’m still in shock.
“I was then worried about keeping the ticket safe and making sure I didn’t lose it, so I put it inside a picture frame behind the photo. I didn’t even want to leave the house with the ticket still sitting there!
“I want to be thoughtful with how I use the money and do things that will be good for my family. I am so grateful I followed my mum’s advice – I feel like my luck was thanks to her looking down on me.”
A new home and car will be on the list of purchases for Robert, who has always wanted a Range Rover, as well as a family holiday.
Offering advice to everyone thinking of buying a ticket, he said: "“I want people to know that anyone can win the National Lottery. You just need to buy a ticket and hope that the stars align like they did for me.
"I never thought it could happen to an ordinary person like me and it did.”
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