An Isle of Wight couple thought they were seeing double when their dog uncovered a second winning ticket for the same draw, matching five numbers and the Lucky Star in the EuroMillions 29 September draw, winning them a life changing £149,089.30, twice.
Dog finds second ticket
Jane (59) and Alan Slater (65) were delighted when they discovered their first £149,089.30 win on Wednesday (30 September) but were utterly speechless when their dog Ruby uncovered another ticket for the same draw four days later, banking the pair a second cheque for £149,089.30. Talking about the very lucky win, Alan, a customer relationship manager for Wight Link Ferries, said:
“I discovered our first win in the early hours of Wednesday morning when I came in from work. To wind down from the shift I decided to check the football results and our EuroMillions numbers, but what I saw soon put a stop to my gentle wind down.
“We’d matched five main numbers and a Lucky Star with our numbers so I ran upstairs telling Jane to get out of bed, she just grumbled at me that it better be a good reason!”
Jane: Thought it was a joke
When Jane, a catering assistant at the hospital, had rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked at the screen, which bore the lucky numbers the pair had been playing for more than 20 years, she was convinced Alan had done something to the TV. Jane said:
“I accused Alan of creating an elaborate joke with the TV, but one look at his face was enough for me to realise he was telling the truth. We didn’t know what to do so both wandered about the house in shock, in fact at 2am we went out to the garden in the hope the fresh air would help us to make sense of it!”
In the morning, Jane rang Camelot to verify the win and on the advisors instruction, signed the back of the winning ticket and put it away safely. Delighted with the win the pair shared the news with close family and friends, and made plans to put the money away safely for the future. And then Lady Luck struck again.
Dog finds the second ticket
Soon to celebrate their 43rd wedding anniversary Alan and Jane enjoy walking their two beloved dogs, Ruby and Kai, at Parkhurst Forest. A few days after their first win it was Ruby’s second birthday so they popped up to the forest for a celebratory morning walk. Jane said;
“We had a lovely walk on Monday (5 October) chatting about the amazing start to the week with our EuroMillions win and how lucky we had been. As we got back in the car to head home Ruby hopped onto the back seat with me and disturbed this piece of paper inside a catalogue which gently floated down to my feet.
“I really can’t explain the way this piece of paper floated, it was like you see in slow motion in films, as though someone wanted me to notice it. I immediately reached down and picked up the slip of paper which turned out to be a lottery ticket.”
Looking at the ticket Jane gently berated Alan for leaving another ticket lying about in the car, and then looked to see which draw it was for. When she saw it was for the draw they had already won £149,089.30 on and bore their winning numbers Jane wasn’t very gentle, she said;
“I was convinced that Alan had taken the winning ticket to show some friends at work and I was livid he’d risked losing it. But poor Alan, trying to drive us safely home, kept repeating he hadn’t touched the ticket and it was still safely at home. I slowly turned the ticket over, fully expecting to see my signature but there was nothing.”
“Utter shock”
The pair drove home in utter shock and ran into the house, pulling up the numbers on the TV once again where they checked that their numbers again matched five numbers and the Lucky Star on the second mystery ticket. Alan said:
“We both burst into tears when we saw that the second ticket was also a winner. It was actually a bit scary because it all happened in such a magical way, what with Ruby disturbing the ticket on her birthday and it floating so gently right in front of Jane’s eyes. The ticket could so easily have disappeared in the rubbish when I tidied up the car, we couldn’t help feel that someone was looking down on us.”
Couple: believe something magical has occurred
With the second win verified the Slater’s are starting to believe something magical has occurred but are happy to take things gently as they adjust to the extraordinary turn of events. Alan said:
“We are a very close family and the wins mean we will be able to help our two children in the future. There will be a big family party later in the year and a few more treats for Ruby and Kai. I will also be hanging up my work boots at the end of the month, retiring a few months earlier than originally planned. I’ve spent ten years safely docking the catamaran at Ryde pier head but with the double win I can step aside and let someone else take that job.”
It’s going to be a good 60th birthday
Jane who will celebrate her 60th birthday this year has a few thoughts about the win, she said:
“With Alan retiring early I may well join him so we can enjoy more getaways with the dogs and our retirement together but I’m not going into retirement quietly! My daughter has planned a three week extravaganza of events to celebrate my 60th and I can’t wait to kick-up my heels knowing that Alan and I have a financially secure and fun-filled future ahead.”
Winning ticket bought in Newport
The couple bought their winning EuroMillions ticket from Spar in Newport. The winning numbers for the EuroMillions draw on Tuesday 29 September were 11, 14, 26, 29, 49 and the Lucky Stars were 3 and 9.
Celebratory photos
