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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask; do you know anyone who knows anyone who....

174 replies

celerysticks · 11/03/2021 12:05

Has won a decent amount on the lottery?

By decent amount I'm meaning anything £10k and up

Only wondering as I had a zoom catch up with a friend last night and as we were chatting away I said something along the lines of "If I won the lottery I'd..."
It got us onto the subject of her thinking the whole thing is a conspiracy and nobody actually ever wins. Her theory is that she doesn't know anyone that's ever won more than £50/£60 and she doesn't know anyone who knows anyone who has either (think she was on a six degrees of separation tangent kind of thing) and neither do I so therefore it can't be real HmmI should point out that we had drunk a considerable amount of wine by this point Grin

So, I thought I'd put it to the wonderful wisdom of mumsnet!
Does anyone know anyone who's won big? Or know anyone who knows anyone?

OP posts:
Claudia84 · 11/03/2021 13:53

My mum won in a syndicate at her school - she was a teacher. Probably about twenty years ago now. The money went quite quickly I think by the time it was all split she got about £50k though. I didn’t see any of it 😆. She had a whale of a time.

BarleyMop · 11/03/2021 14:00

Colleague’s mum won £3million. Him and his wife (both colleagues) handed in their notice. They both came back a year later, as they’d spent what the M/MIL had given them. Not sure how much they got from her, but definitely strange to have them back at work after just 12 months off

BarbaraofSeville · 11/03/2021 14:00

I don't understand the reasoning that she doesn't believe that people do win big, because she doesn't know anyone who has.

It will be a tiny percentage that has won millions, so just the law of averages mean that most people won't know anyone who has won. Especially as many people keep it a complete secret or minimise the amount they have won.

I don't know anyone personally, but I do know that a street in my town won a major postcode lottery prize and when I was at school, two dinnerladies won a national bingo prize that would have bought multiple houses/equivalent to several years salaries at the time.

Bluntpencil · 11/03/2021 14:01

A lovely local syndicate of hospice nurses won £3m. They didn’t retire early

AiryFairy1 · 11/03/2021 14:01

I think I’d keep it a secret, and enjoy being quietly generous in various people’s lives.

Anonymous donations here and there, type of thing (if I won really big money!)

(I don’t know anyone personally, but a lovely character in a show was like that 😊)

Bluntpencil · 11/03/2021 14:02

I just remembered another, a guy who won a couple of million, bought a pub, spent it all then dealt Coke.

Blancah · 11/03/2021 14:06

Someone in my area won about £1.3mil several years back. I don't know them personally but I know people who know them well.
They frittered it away by the sounds of it, they got a nice house out of it but set up multiple businesses, one after another - which all failed. (We're up north)

Ilovecharliecat · 11/03/2021 14:06

I know of a syndicate who won £1m on the lottery and then a few years later won £1m on the premium bonds, talk about good luck! although the syndicate was so big I think each person had about £40k or £60k out of each £m win

Lettuceforlunch · 11/03/2021 14:14

Don’t know anyone. Got four numbers on a lottery ticket once and only got £85!

BarbaraofSeville · 11/03/2021 14:19

@Lettuceforlunch

Don’t know anyone. Got four numbers on a lottery ticket once and only got £85!
One of the times I got 3 numbers on the lottery it was a 'must be won' week where no-one won the jackpot so they roll the prize down and I got about £130 for 3 numbers!

I won £1k on the premium bonds last year, but that's in lieu of interest so doesn't really count, and isn't the big million obviously.

PeppermintTea2021 · 11/03/2021 14:20

I won 300 a year or so ago. Not life changing but really bloody handy at the time!

Foxtrotalpha · 11/03/2021 14:23

I don’t know anyone who has won the jackpot but I know people who have won lower amounts. A colleague won about £100k about 20 years ago. Another colleague’s mum won enough to give him a £60k deposit for a flat.

I strongly suspected one of my daughter’s primary school friends Mum had won because she went from a tiny ex council flat to a penthouse, a country house with ponies, designer clothes etc overnight. In fact she was having an affair with a (married) multi millionaire.

penguin23 · 11/03/2021 14:27

A neighbour won £2million about a year after the lottery first started, didn't see them for dust :-D and know someone personally that won £1million on a scratch card. Probably means the odds are it will never be me!!

Original poster
celerysticks · 11/03/2021 14:29

@BarbaraofSeville

I don't understand the reasoning that she doesn't believe that people do win big, because she doesn't know anyone who has.

It will be a tiny percentage that has won millions, so just the law of averages mean that most people won't know anyone who has won. Especially as many people keep it a complete secret or minimise the amount they have won.

I don't know anyone personally, but I do know that a street in my town won a major postcode lottery prize and when I was at school, two dinnerladies won a national bingo prize that would have bought multiple houses/equivalent to several years salaries at the time.

It was possibly just the wine talking to be honest, it just got me thinking.... And tbh, I'm a nosey bastard and I like hearing all these stories - it keeps me dreaming!

The stories of it causing relationships and families to break down are quite sad but doesn't stop me wanting to win GrinI'd like to think I'm sensible enough to not be an idiot with it if I did ever win big.
Really I'd love just enough to pay off my mortgage and to keep me going while I set up working doing something I love for a living rather than the job I do now which I really hate Confused

OP posts:
penguin23 · 11/03/2021 14:29

And my mum won £10k in a magazine competition :-D

Deadringer · 11/03/2021 14:46

Not the lottery but my dh's best friend won a 100,000 in a free customer draw when they bought a sofa.

CharlotteWeb · 11/03/2021 14:48

A bunch of people in my hometown won big with their syndicate at work. There were around 20 of them working at a family-run car dealership and they got around £500k each.

millymoo1202 · 11/03/2021 14:51

I know of a couple who won on the euro millions a few years ago, it was a lot if I remember, over 50 million, very nice people and didn’t change them a bit!

Totallyfedup1979 · 11/03/2021 14:52

One of my pupils parents won 9 million.

Cocomarine · 11/03/2021 14:55

Very close friend’s ex girlfriend.
£1.7m on lottery. Bought a huge luxury 5 bed home in the NE where she’s from. Has lived ever since from a combination of part time work doing something she loves, and the interest.

Original poster
celerysticks · 11/03/2021 15:06

@Cocomarine

Very close friend’s ex girlfriend. £1.7m on lottery. Bought a huge luxury 5 bed home in the NE where she’s from. Has lived ever since from a combination of part time work doing something she loves, and the interest.
Sounds like an absolute dream
OP posts:
Nhsisfucked · 11/03/2021 15:10

Yes my nana won 8k, my friend won 2.3 million and the man 3 doors down won 1.5 million last year! They have a sign up in the local shop to say we made a millionaire or something along those lines!

AirportLounge · 11/03/2021 15:14

I know two people.

One was a girl I grew up with who won £1.3million when she was about 21 (this was years ago). She pissed it up the wall within a couple of years and has nothing to show for it.

The other is a friend of DHs who won £3million, invested it in property, and is now very wealthy and set up for life.

WeAllHaveWings · 11/03/2021 15:16

A syndicate of production operators in my work won around £250k.

Think they got £40k-ish each.

Advic3Pl3as3 · 11/03/2021 15:21

I won 20k on the raffle part of the lottery.

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