It’s hard to believe it because most people don’t admit it publicly but since the National Lottery started in November 1994, Northern Ireland has had a whopping 95 millionaires made.
What’s most amazing about this is that MORE THAN HALF were created just in the last five years.
According to official stats that’s one new millionaire every 39.9 days created in Northern Ireland since January 2011.
The statistics have amazed lottery mathematicians who reckon Northern Ireland is “punching above its weight”.
Since 1994 there have been an average of 4.4 millionaires per year created in Northern Ireland.
And, it’s not just millionaires who’ve won life-changing sums. The figures released by National Lottery reckon there are a staggering 695 “high tier” winners from Northern Ireland scooping prizes of £50,000 or more.
What that means is that, on average, someone in Northern Ireland has won a massive payout EVERY 11.3 DAYS since 1994.
So, who are those lucky people? We all remember former bus driver Peter Lavery from Belfast who won an amazing £10.2 million in May 1996. Reports are he’s tripled that wealth since with “lucky” investments.
But, out of the 95 millionaires and 695 “high tier” not many went public, here’s 12 National Lottery winners who did in the last 3 years:
1. Ross Hearst from Armagh, won an amazing £4million on a Scratchcard in January 2016.
2. Stephanie Harkin from Derry won a cool £100k on a Scratchcard in December 2015.
3. Anne Canavan from Derry won a tidy £1million in September 2015 on the Euromillions.
4. Martin McKenna from Belfast also bagged a £1million jackpot in September 2015 with a Scratchcard.
5. Maureen Wilkinson from Belfast scooped a nice £300k on a Scratchcard in September 2015.
6. Sharin McCourt from Derry had the surprise of her life when she bagged a quarter of a million (£250k) in August 2015 on a Scratchcard.
7. Claire Marks from Antrim also scratched her way to a quarter of a million (£250k) in February 2015 on a Scratchcard.
8. Lauren McLarnon from Newtownabbey was celebrating a £100k win on a Scratchcard in December 2014.
9. Shane & Lauren Woods from Strabane also found their Christmas miracle in December 2014 with a £100k Scratchcard win.
10. Mary Hamilton from Belfast made a whopping £12,935,936 in November 2014 in the Euromillions draw.
11. Simon Savage from Newry found himself laughing all the way to the bank with a £1,796,081 Lotto win in November 2014.
12. Calum Fitzpatrick from Newry won a fantastic £390,643 on Lotto in October 2014.
Andy Carter, Senior Winners’ Advisor for The National Lottery, said: “There’s definitely something in the Northern Ireland water in recent years which is making it one of the luckiest postcode areas in the UK.
“It took more than 15 years to create our first 47 millionaires here but just over five years to create the next 48! It’s incredible to think that over 50 per cent of Northern Ireland’s National Lottery millionaires have been created since January 2011.
“We can’t put it down to anything other than lady luck so we would advise players in Northern Ireland to make the most of this luck on your doorstep while it lasts. With the total number of millionaires in Northern Ireland now sitting at 95, surely the 100th can’t be too far away, which really will be quite a milestone for the region.”
Overall, one in every 2,060 of the 16+ population in Northern Ireland has won a National Lottery prize of over £50K.
There are now a massive 4,250 National Lottery millionaires across the UK and with more than six new millionaires made every week.
Are you the next Northern Ireland winner? Remember what they say, you’ve got to be in it to win it !