I won £1m lottery jackpot but only £60k ever hit my bank account… at least money landed in time to jet away on holiday
A GRAN who landed a massive jackpot and ended up with £60,000 in her bank account has opened up about her win.
Elaine Cusick, 69, scooped the cash through People’s Postcode Lottery and quickly jetted off to the other side of the world with husband Eddie.
The mum-of-two, alongside 14 of her neighbours in Scotland, won a whopping £1million to share in November.
So Elaine and husband Eddie jumped on a plane and flew to Australia for two weeks – while sharing more than half their winnings with the rest of their family.
She said: “It was one of Eddie’s dreams to be in Sydney for the fireworks at New Year.
“We were planning to go at Christmas this year, but when we got the cheque just before last Christmas we said: ‘Right let’s do it’.
“We had a great vantage point. My cousin took us to a special place and we got some fantastic photos. It was amazing, they had drones and all sorts.”
Elaine said the trip was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” and the couple loved it.
She said the pair had been sure to take the lottery cheque with them to show it off in photos.
The 69-year-old continued: “When we were taking pictures we could see people looking at us and going ‘What’s all that about?’”
Elaine and her postcode in Old Kilpatrick, West Dunbartonshire landed the £66,666 Millionaire Street Prize in November.
She also went on to share her winnings with her family – giving each of her daughters £10,000 and her grandchildren £5,000.
The grandmother said she plans to keep playing the lottery – but not for greedy reasons.
Elaine said: “This is something we would never be able to do again.
“I’ll be keeping on playing. It only costs £12 a month. That would only pay for three coffees. To think it is helping charities is just amazing.
“Even though I’ve won, I won’t stop doing it – because of the charities.”
She said she had been “totally shocked” by the initial win, adding through tears: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have won that amount of money.
“I can actually feel myself getting tearful again. It was just amazing.
“I’m hoping to buy myself a car in the not-too-distant future. The main thing has been to support the kids.”
At the time of her win, Elaine said: “I can give all the family a great Christmas.
“I would have Christmas all year round if I could. But this year it will be amazing.
“During Covid, the first time we could get together was in July 2021, and I had Christmas in the garden. I did it all up.
“The family are all calling me Mrs Christmas.”
How People's Postcode Lottery works
People’s Postcode Lottery costs £12 a month to play and there are guaranteed winners every day.
People play with their chosen postcode and are automatically entered into all draws. A minimum of 33% from each ticket goes to charity.
Every Saturday, £1 million will be shared by one postcode as part of the lottery’s Millionaire Street prize.
Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have raised more than £1.2 billion for thousands of charities and local good causes.