Israeli Player Wins £18.4m Lottery Jackpot with first ticket

It’s said that if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. An Israeli man doesn’t need to be told that. His first ever lottery ticket won him an NIS 80 million (£18.4 million) jackpot in the draw held on February 5.

The man has asked to remain anonymous, but we do know he’s in his 30s and lives in Central Israel. His win is a record for the countries’ lottery. It beats the NIS 76 million that was won last May.

Speaking to Hebrew Media, he told how an advertisement about the record lottery jackpot had been seen. That got him thinking about buying his first ever lottery ticket. Never did he dream though that it would be first time lucky for him.

How do you play?

The rules had to be explained to him and then he had his numbers to choose. Being in a hurry, he “invented a quick method” and just chose the primary number (their version of the bonus ball). He let the lottery machine choose the other six main numbers. He joked: “I’m not really sure what I did, but it certainly worked.”

When he saw the results, the numbers looked familiar. “I felt a kind of ‘light’ that I can’t explain,” he recalled. His wife was asleep, but he whispered to her that they’d won the lottery.

Waking up his wife

She didn’t understand what was going on as her husband had never played the lottery before.Eventually, his wife realized what had happened. More phone calls were made despite the time and then he and his wife stayed up until 6am talking about the lottery win.

He still went to work in the morning and then claimed his winnings in the afternoon. When asked how the windfall would be used, he said that “we don’t lack for anything.” His family is “content with our lifestyle” but swiftly added that there is “always room for improvement.” Looking after family and relatives will be a key aim for the lottery winner.

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