Son finds late dad's lucky 'Lotto numbers' in a booklet from 1994. He tried his luck with them and was blown away
Hayes would put in the numbers every week as a way of remembering his late father
Not many can brag about how their late father helped them win $1.3 million, but 56-year-old Sean Hayes from Oxfordshire, England, can. As reported by The Sun UK on March 19, Hayes bagged the huge sum of money by winning the lottery, using the numbers that his deceased father, James, had written in a booklet.
Before James passed away in 2010, he kept a notebook where he wrote down his Lotto numbers. After he passed, Hayes would put in the numbers every week as a way of remembering him. However, he lost the booklet for a while and only found it again before Christmas. Hayes began putting in the numbers again and finally hit the jackpot in January.
Hayes' father had played the same set of lottery numbers since 1994. These include 6, 20, 34, 38, and 47, as well as bonus ball 4. Hayes could not believe that the numbers his father had used all these years were the same ones that would bring him tons of money. Hayes and his wife, Sarah, were at a pub when he won the lottery. At the time, he was still unsure if he actually won the money or not, and had to call the National Lottery to confirm.
The win came out to £1,000,000, which is approximately $1,338,460, but of course, the phone signal had to be spotty right at that moment. Hayes was moving around, trying to hear better when they confirmed it. He said that it was a moment he would never forget. He said, "To think that my dad chose these numbers all those years ago, before he died, is just unbelievable, and it's a really nice connection to my dad’s memory." After winning the lottery, he and his wife celebrated in the pub with a few drinks.
Hayes, who is $1.3 million richer now, is planning to make use of the money to upgrade his and Sarah's lives. The couple had been renting for the longest time, and he thought buying a house would be a good purchase. Hayes enjoys gardening and is looking forward to buying a house with a garden for him to tend. In addition to the house, he is also planning to upgrade his car and take his wife on several trips all around the world.
According to the Guinness World Records, a man by the name of Edwin Castro holds the record for the "greatest jackpot in a national lottery." Castro won his lottery prize back in November 2022, after buying a $2 Powerball ticket from Joe's Service Center convenience store located in Altadena, California. The win was worth $2.04–$2.05 billion but Castro chose to get the lump sum payout, which came to about $997.6 million before tax.
Dean O’Field, who is the Winners’ Advisor at Allwyn and operator of The National Lottery, said, "I just love hearing stories like Sean’s where there is a really special story that led to his winning numbers." He wishes the couple the best and hopes they enjoy house hunting.
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