Sunday 18 March 2012

Lottery stories to make you glad you haven’t won a jackpot.

Most of us have daydreamed about what we would do if we won the lottery, but in real life, it doesn’t always work out.

I Threw Away £100,000!

In April 2010 Mail driver Cemal Celikkanat, 38, made the headlines when it emerged that he had thrown away a £100,000 winning scratch card. He’d scratched off the cover but not understood the rules. Thinking the three £100,000 symbols on his national Lottery Blue Card had to be all in a row and not just anywhere, Cemal simply threw his scratchcard away.

Ironically, he only discovered his mistake because a work colleague asked him to collect the £25 winnings she had on another Blue scratchcard. Upon discovering his mistake Cemal rushed to the shop where he had bought and disposed of his ticket to see if he could retrieve it. Unfortunately, the bin had been emptied the night before and the contents had already been taken to the local incinerator.

As the National Lottery operators rules clearly state that they will only pay out when winning scratchcards are produced, there was little Cemal could do.

Celikkanat told his local newspaper the Sheffield Star: “I threw away £100,000. I feel so terrible, I think about it every day. It’s had a massive impact on my life.” As I think it would with anyone’s life.

We hope you win again Cemal, but this time collect your winnings.

€10,000 In-flight Meal

One of the most bizarre lottery stories has to be the one about an un-named Ryan Air passenger.
On a Ryan Air flight to East Midlands Airport from Krakow in Poland, a gentlemen won €10,000 on a scratchcard he purchased on the flight from one of the cabin crew.

However, his excitement at winning soon turned to frustration when he discovered that he would have to claim his win directly from Camelot as understandably the Ryan Air crew didn’t have enough cash to payout his winnings.

The man didn’t seem to understand this and became more and more annoyed. Eventually, despite the attempts of fellow passengers and the Ryan Air crew to placate the man, out of sheer frustration the man ate his ticket.

No wonder he decided to remain un-named.

Winning The Lottery Was The Worst Thing That Ever happened To Me!

In Keith Gough’s case, the reality of winning a lottery jackpot was certainly nothing like he had imagined it would be.

Back in 2005 Keith, then a 58 year old baker won £9 million. He later told newspapers that his lottery win had completely ruined his life.

He had blown most of his winnings, lost his wife of 25 years and fallen out with all his friends.

Keith claimed that boredom had driven him to drink which he blames for his woes. Boredom brought on because he gave up his job after winning.

He was also duped out of £700,000 by James Prince, a conman who persuaded him to invest in bogus business schemes. This came as a result of his drinking as he met Mr Prince whilst being treated for alcohol dependency at the renowned Priory rehabilitation clinic in Birmingham.

Prince was subsequently arrested, tried and jailed for 3 years for fraud but Keith Gough never got his money back.

Keith died in March 2010 after a heart attack brought on by drink and stress.

Keith’s story is testament to the saying ‘money can buy you everything except happiness’.

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