Imagine winning a whopping $200 million lottery jackpot, only to discover you can’t claim the money! This dream turned into a heartbreaking reality for one couple.
Winning the lottery is an ultimate fantasy for many. Just think of all the lavish splurges you could indulge in with that kind of cash!
Receiving that winning notification is something everyone hopes for but never truly expects to happen.
However, for Rachel Kennedy and Liam McCrohan, a young couple of 19 and 21 respectively, their supposed windfall quickly became a distressing ordeal.
The pair was under the impression they had snagged the £182 million ($216 million) EuroMillions jackpot. Kennedy shared with The Sun, “I went on the app and it said ‘Winning Match’ and I thought ‘Oh my God, I’ve won’. So I called my boyfriend Liam and my mum into the room and they couldn’t believe it either.”
The couple from Hertfordshire had been playing the same numbers for several weeks. They couldn’t help but get a bit ‘carried away’ dreaming about their new fortune.
Unfortunately, their celebration was premature.
At the time, Kennedy was a business student and didn’t have enough funds in her account to cover the ticket purchase.
She recalled the harsh reality check: “I called the number thinking that I had won £182 million and they said ‘Yeah you’ve got the right numbers but you didn’t have the funds in your account for the payment of the ticket’.
“I was ecstatic thinking I had won, but Liam took the news harder than I did when we learned the truth,” Kennedy added.
McCrohan, an economics student, even shared his disappointment on X (formerly Twitter): “When your Mrs decides not to play the EuroMillions… and all 7 of her usual numbers come up.”
Kennedy, embarrassed by the situation, chose not to post about the incident.
Reflecting on their misfortune, Kennedy said they have the ‘worst luck’, while McCrohan confessed, “I was heartbroken when we heard the man on the phone say we hadn’t actually bought the ticket.”
In a somewhat cheeky response, Camelot wished them ‘good luck’ in future draws, according to the Mirror.
A spokesperson commented, “We’re aware of Rachel’s story and hope she gets in early to buy a ticket for the next big draw.”
Having learned her lesson, Kennedy has since changed her regular numbers. Let’s hope they don’t show up in a future draw!
It seems lottery woes are not uncommon. Michael Cartlidge and Charlotte Cox had a major fallout over a £1 million lottery scratch card win post-breakup.
While Cox bought and scratched the winning ticket, Cartlidge insisted it was his idea to buy it and tried to reimburse her for the cost.
He told The Sun, “I am in shock. I can openly admit that we wouldn’t have got that ticket without Charlotte, but she wouldn’t have got it without me either. I know it was her bank account that paid for it, but it should go 50-50 morally.”
However, a source close to Cox countered, “Mike has no right to this money. He is not a nice person. Charlotte won, she paid for the ticket, and she scratched the ticket. The case is closed.”
Their dispute highlighted that a million pounds can indeed bring a great deal of unhappiness.
A Lotto spokesperson clarified to The Sun, “The National Lottery Rules for Scratchcard Games make clear that only one person can be the owner of a ticket and that only the person whose name and address is written on the back of a winning scratchcard can claim a prize.”
“This means that a prize can only be paid to one person and this is always communicated clearly to prize claimants. If there is no agreement in place, any dispute between the parties needs to be resolved between themselves,” they added.