Yahoo News Edinburgh man thought £500,000 Thunderball Lottery win was a dream in the night
A retired Edinburgh man is celebrating a lottery win, after thinking his winning ticket was just a dream in the middle of the night.
Raymond Young, 63, from Edinburgh has won £500,000 in the National Lottery. The recently retired British Gas worker has been entering the lottery using the same Thunderball numbers since the draw launched 25 years ago.
In March this year, Raymond’s numbers finally came up, but he thought it was a dream at first.
The 63-year-old had initially checked his Thunderball ticket while half asleep, half realising but not fully taking in that he had a winning ticket from the draw on 23 March 2024.
Fully awake the next morning, he assumed it had all been a dream. That’s until he checked his ticket again to find that he had won the top prize of £500,000.
Raymond said: “I had woken up in the middle of the night and randomly decided to check my numbers, which led me to see that I had won the top prize. I must have still been half asleep though as, in the morning, I genuinely thought it was all a dream.
“So, when I decided to have another check in the morning, this time fully awake, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that I was still a winner."
Since the dream win, Raymond has enjoyed his winnings by splashing out on a new car and a caravan but is now taking some time out to decide how to spend the rest.
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Raymond decided that Blackpool was where he wanted to celebrate his success, as it was his childhood favourite holiday spot.
He has been visiting the seaside resort for most of his life, having first gone there as a youngster with his parents and, most recently, to visit some friends who run a B&B.
He said: “I’ve treated myself to a new car, as I was already shopping around for one, so this just made it all the easier to buy what I wanted.
“I’ve also bought a static caravan, something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time but have never been able to. I’ve chosen a beautiful spot on the coast so I can’t wait to start going there with my family and friends.
“For me, Blackpool has and will always be a home from home. It holds such special memories and I just love visiting a few times a year.
“I’ve been going there my whole life, from playing on the beach as a kid to staying with friends over the last decade, so it just had to be the place I chose to celebrate my win!”
Raymond bought his winning Thunderball ticket from the Keystore (known locally as Fordel Services), in Dalkeith, Scotland. His winning Thunderball numbers on Saturday 23 March were: 12, 14, 17, 25, 29 and the Thunderball was 14.
