Joe and Jess Thwaite, a couple who live in the city of Gloucester, England, woke up last week with a real ‘bomb’: they had earned 184 million pounds (approximately R$ 1 billion at the current price), the biggest prize ever paid. by the EuroMillions lottery in the UK.
It should be noted that the identity of the awarded persons is only disclosed if they wish to. Last Thursday, the 19th, they decided to appear publicly and reveal the moment they discovered they won the ball.
“I looked at my email and there was a message saying I won,” said Joe, who figured it would be a small amount. “When I saw the value, I dropped my cell phone. Then I took it again, looked again at the value and thought it was in thousands”.
Initially, Joe imagined that he had only made 184 thousand pounds (R$ 1 million): “I was very happy!”. This took place on the morning of the 10th of May. He didn’t want to wake his wife Jess and let her rest for a few more minutes until his alarm went off. He spent that time checking houses on the internet, without worrying about the purchase price.
Jess didn’t believe it right away when her husband told her the news, she thought he had no glasses, so she didn’t check the awards properly. In a way she was right, however, what Joe had seen wrong was just the value of the prize.
After checking the correct amount, Jess headed to work like a normal day. Along the way, she decided she needed to share the news with her mother. When calling her husband, Joe asked her not to communicate the amount obtained, only the winning of the lottery.
But it was impossible to hide: “She knew down to the pennies of the prize value,” said Jess, clarifying that the mother first thought she would tell that she was pregnant. “This award is a huge relief to my whole family, we’ve been struggling with bills and all that stuff for a long time,” Jess said.
About EuroMillions
EuroMillions is a lottery modality that operates in several European countries and requires seven correct numbers to win the maximum prize.
