A MAN who had just £13 in his bank account before he scooped £2.4million has revealed why he barely spent a penny for weeks.
Neil Jones, 59, and partner Julie Kirkham found out they’d won the life-changing sum just before Christmas 2010.
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And the win came at a time when the couple needed it most – Neil had just £13 to his name.
But the 59-year-old said they had already pulled together enough cash for Christmas presents so decided they’d wait until the new year to start their luxury life.
Neil, of Stoke-on-Trent, said the win came as the couple used to always pop into their local shop and get a £3 lucky dip.
He recalled: “We would win the odd tenner, I suppose.
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“I used to joke with [the shop owner] that he was selling duds because we hardly won – but when we got the big one, I said to him, ‘You’re not selling duds anymore‘.
“Before we won, we’d got enough money sorted out for Christmas but then December 8, our big numbers came up.
“We didn’t spend a penny until the new year. I stuck to my plan of everyone getting £100 for Christmas – I wanted to get our old life out of the way.
“January 1, we started a new life.”
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Neil said it was then that they started telling his friends and family about the win.
But even then, it took him a long time to come to grips with the fact he was now a multimillionaire.
He said: “It took about 18 months to sink in. It was absolutely amazing, fantastic.
“It’s a cushion – when a bill comes through the door, you know you can pay it.”
One of Neil’s first big buys was a pool table after the win was a pool table – and he’s now off to represent England in the sport’s European championships.
The former tiler is taking part in the tournament in Malta next month will be his “proudest moment”.
Since scooping the win, Neil has been able to pour “thousands” of hours into perfecting his skills.
He said: “Winning the lottery allowed me to put those hours in.
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“If I didn’t win, I wouldn’t have been able to buy the table, I wouldn’t have had the time — I’d still be on my hands and knees tiling.
“I can’t wait to fly out to Malta, put on that England shirt and lead the team out.”
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