Winner Wrongly Thought He Hit The Jackpot
Dad was told his lottery win was too large to be paid out at his corner shop. Winner Nathan Moody thought he’d struck lucky, scooping a big prize on Saturday’s Lotto draw, but his winnings totaled the grand sum of just £2.
A Dad-of-three thought he had won big on the lottery when he was told the sum was too big to be paid out on the spot – only to find out later it was actually the more humbling sum of just £2.
Nathan Moody, 25 from Billingham in County Durham, thought he’d scooped a substantial prize after he’d bought a lucky dip for Saturday’s Lotto draw from his local corner shop.When he went back to Low Grange Store to check his ticket and was told he had won a large sum that was too big to be paid out to him on the spot.
He even started planning a holiday – what would have been his family’s first trip abroad – for his partner Charlotte and children. Nathan told The Chronicle: “It made a beeping noise to say I had won. The shop assistant was quite shocked. The machine was telling him it’s a big payout and I should contact Lottery HQ.”
Moody was made to write his name on the back of the ticket. He states that people in the shop were excited about his supposed win.
Immediately after the draw, Low Grange Store appealed on its Facebook page for the winner to come forward.
The post said the ticket holder could expect around a £50,000 prize.
But it appeared Nathan had had his ticket scanned during what is known as a “draw break” – a period immediately after a draw where numbers and prizes are being worked out by Camelot.
Devastated Nathan went back to the shop the next day to check again.
I had won no money.
He said: “The machine made the beep again and it gave me a free lucky dip.
“I was absolutely gutted and couldn’t speak, absolutely devastated. I knew it wasn’t the £1m raffle but I assumed it was one of the 10 prizes of £20,000.
“Straight away, I was talking to my partner about getting everything sorted and paying my bills. We could have got a nice little car, helped my mum and dad out. “The most I’ve ever won before is £100. I do it about once a month.”
A spokesman for Camelot, who run the National Lottery, confirmed the ticket was scanned and the National Lottery terminal displayed the following message: “Results not in. Return ticket to player and tell player to check another day”.
He described the message as being “entirely normal”. Until this “draw break” is over, no prizes can be given out.
