Pub winners toast lottery scoop
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8280579.stm Version 0 of 1. A man who was made redundant three months ago is among the members of a pub lottery syndicate celebrating after scooping £4.5m in Saturday's draw. Nine men, who are regulars at the Doon Inn in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, won a total of £4,525,058, meaning they each get about £500,000. They realised they had all six numbers after scrawling them on a beer mat and checking the ticket with bar staff. The winners were handed their cheque at a news conference in Glasgow. The place just erupted on Saturday night when the guys realised they had all six numbers Kate Houlsworth Pub owner The syndicate members include driving instructor Bobby McLauchlan, 51, brothers Sandy, 65, and William Morton, 61, Jim McGrail, 49, and sales manager Iain Macdonald, 55. The other four men did not want to be identified. Sandy Morton, who bought the winning ticket, said: "It is fantastic. It is a lot of money and all the boys are over the moon. "At the Doon Inn all the other punters are delighted for us. It is great that it's all nine of us that are celebrating." Another of the winners, Jim McGrail, who lost his job earlier this year said: "I worked at Freescale in East Kilbride and got made redundant so this is great news for me." The winners are all regulars at the Doon Inn in Blantyre He was not in the pub when the men realised they had won and took a bit of convincing. "I was in the house and I got a phone call and I didn't believe it to be honest," he added. "I made nearly every one of the syndicate members phone me just to make sure it was true. "I've not decided what I will spend the money on but I would like a new car and maybe a motorbike." The group recently switched to the Lucky Dip after playing the same numbers every Saturday for 15 years. Kate Houlsworth who runs the Doon Inn with her sister, Margaret, said: "The place just erupted on Saturday night when the guys realised they had all six numbers. "At first they wrote it down wrong, I think they wrote 22 instead of 32, and thought they just had five numbers. When they realised they had actually won the jackpot the party really started." She added: "I know it sounds corny but you couldn't get a better bunch of guys." Barmaid Kitty Jamieson poured the celebratory pints on Saturday Barmaid Kitty Jamieson, who was working on Saturday night, said: "The atmosphere was electric. We are all delighted for them and have been celebrating every night since." One of the men did not find out about the win until yesterday because he was away on holiday and out of mobile phone signal range. Another of the winners, Bobby McLauchlan, said: "It's fantastic to win and it's just about sinking in now. "My own kids are all grown up so my wife already has her eye on a new house." |