AN EDINBURGH man won £500,000 on The National Lottery, but thought it was just a dream after checking his ticket in the middle of the night whilst half asleep.
Raymond Young couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw that he had the winning ticket for the 23 March 2024 draw and assumed he was still dreaming.
After waking up the following morning, the 63-year-old decided to check his ticket again, still thinking it was a dream, only to realise he had in fact, won the top prize.
Raymond Young stated: “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.”
Raymond added: “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!”
His first stop to celebrate his win was a trip to Blackpool, his favourite holiday location since he was a child.
Raymond stated: “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.”
Ever since the draw first started near 25 years ago, Raymond has used the same Thunderball numbers and with the results being 12, 14, 17, 25, 29 and a Thunderball number of 14, he won big.
With his prize money, he has treated himself to a new caravan and a new car, still deciding on how to spend the rest of his big win.
Raymond 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.”
