The chances of someone winning the lottery jackpot is one in 13,983,816 - so pretty bloody unlikely. But there are some people who just manage to be in the right place at the right time. Why can't that be me?
Marilyn Scott ran into a store to break a £10 note to pay for her parking. She bought a £2 scratch card and thought nothing of it. Little did she know, that tiny card was her ticket to a cool £250,000.
The 27-year-old has told The Metro: "Once I'd scratched it I couldn't believe my eyes. I had to ask a couple of my colleagues to check if it was real. When I saw it in my handbag I actually thought to myself 'I could have been sitting here all day yesterday a winner'."
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Marilyn has already set her sights on what she wants to do with the massive pay out, a big holiday. The call centre worker is flying to Australia at the end of the year, but will also take her family on a big trip to celebrate her mum's 60th birthday.
She adds: "I've always wanted to travel the world so I might try and squeeze in a trip to Europe as well. It also means I can buy a house. I never thought I would ever have enough money for a deposit to buy my own home."
Good on her.
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Be careful if you want to be like Marilyn. Retailers are supposed to stop selling scratchcards with the biggest jackpot once the last prize has been snapped up.
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But shops can continue selling them, however, if the jackpot is less than £121,000 - even after it's been claimed. According to The Sun, lotto bosses must reveal how many 'top prizes' are left in each game, but do not have to list the size of the cash pots left on them.
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Camelot displays information about remaining prizes on in-store National Lottery scratchcard terminals but said that they can be 'easy' for customers to miss.
It is believed that the majority of scratchcards are bought on impulse and players are unlikely to have researched whether the prize has been claimed or is still up for grabs.
Featured Image Credit: SWNSTopics: Lotto