Dad wins £3.5 million house and £100,000 cash in raffle
A man has won a whopping £3.5 million house and £100,000 cash after entering into an online raffle.
I remember doing a raffle at a town hall once and ended up winning all the expensive bottles of alcohol in the draw.
I was gutted - aged nine, what was I meant to do with that? - but my mum and grandparents were delighted.
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However, this man's win certainly tops mine and if you've ever spotted those raffle adverts on Instagram and thought you'd never be in with a chance, then maybe now's the time to have a little bit of faith.
Financial risk analyst Will Satherley from Cardiff had only ever taken part in more small-scale raffles, such as when he won six cakes in a pub quiz.
So, after buying a ticket for an Omaze raffle for £35, he certainly didn't expect to win his money back - and then some.
He was working in the garden and 'covered in wood chippings' when he realised he'd missed 'a couple' of calls.
Little did the dad know the news he'd soon be told.
Will was told he'd won a prize, not realising he'd won the 'Grand Prize' until a team from Omaze came to his house.
He jokes, as per the press release: "It was so surreal, my wife and I work in finance so it’s fair to say we’re not used to this level of excitement!
"That night I kept checking my emails to make sure I hadn’t imagined the whole thing, in the end I couldn’t really sleep so I went back out to finish the gardening at 4:00am!
"The neighbours must’ve wondered what I was up to!"
The Grand Prize consists of a £3.5 million house in the Cotswolds which has four bedrooms, a 10m heated swimming pool and a home gym.
The house also comes mortgage free and all legal fees and stamp duty has already been sorted.
And Will and his family have the option of renting it out, selling it or enjoying it themselves, as well as an extra £100,000 to do whatever they want with.
As if the Grand Prize wasn't a win enough already, Will also received an email the next day telling him he'd won a £10 gift voucher from Omaze too.
"I thought I must be the luckiest man in Wales," the dad said.
Will and his family - wife Carrie and two sons aged four and seven - have holidayed in the Cotswolds before but struggled to find a place to stay in summer.
They certainly won't have that problem this year, that's for sure.
"It’s a life changing win for all our family." Will said.
As well as giving Will and his family a house and cash prize, the Omaze Million Pound House Draw also raised a whopping £2,150,000 to support The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) - a charity 'very close' to the dad's heart.
Will resolves: "I’m running the Cardiff half marathon for the NSPCC in October [...] My run might not match the £2,150,000 Omaze raised but every little helps - I can start training in my new home gym now!"
According to The Mirror, Omaze spokesperson James Oakes said: "We’re delighted that Will and his lovely family have won their dream home in the Cotswolds - whilst contributing towards our biggest ever raise of £2,150,000 for NSPCC in the process - a charity that is close to his heart.''
Poppy Bilderbeck