There was something unusual in the Wednesday March 23rd draw of the UK Lotto – there were a total of 4,082 people who were able to match five of the numbers drawn, and many of them are irate! Michael Keenan, one of the 5-number winners even complained to the police.
Because so many people managed a 5 number match, each was paid only £15 instead of the usual £1,700 or so. Because the pot of winnings for this prize tier is shared – just like the UK Lotto jackpot. Many complained because those who got three and four number matches won more than they did. Those with four numbers pocketed £51 and those with three received £25.
Lottery officials speculate that this resulted from all but one of the numbers drawn being multiples of 7 which many consider to be a lucky number. The actual results drawn were 7, 14, 21, 35, 41 and 42. If 28 had been drawn instead of 41 it would have been a complete ‘multiples of 7’ sequence. Which demonstrates just how many people pick lucky or popular combinations of numbers — and why it is a bad idea to do so.
Your Comments ↓
Er, must be shome mishtake, this happened on the Lotto, not Euromillions…
Oops – you are of course correct, it was the UK Lotto and not EuroMillions – more coffee required :-). We’ve corrected the story.