Hamilton woman is NOT a Euro millions winner

Oct 21 2010 by Leona Greenan, Hamilton Advertiser

A HAMILTON teacher was last week at the centre of rumours surrounding the identity of the £113 million Euro Lotto winner.

Christine Emmett was bombarded with calls from people eager to hear about her massive win after a rumour spread that she was the winner of the biggest-ever lottery jackpot in Europe.

And she even endured umpteen calls from banks saying they were keen to take charge of her supposed Euro Lotto fortune.

The 50-year-old, who admits she doesn’t even play the lottery, was completely bemused by the event and admitted that in reality she was relieved she had not won, as the attention had been “intrusive.”

And this week Christine, a primary 5/6 teacher at the town’s St Elizabeth’s Primary School, was keen to set the record straight.

She told the Advertiser: “I have no clue where this started, it could have been the result of a prank or a flyaway comment that snowballed - but I am certainly not the Euro Lotto millions winner.”

She added: “To be honest I’m very relieved I’m not the lottery winner because the whole episode was quite unnerving and rather intrusive.

“I got a real taste of what the aftermath would be like for a real winner, and the attention was surreal.

“My head was spinning with it all and my phone was ringing off the hook.

“Even my boys, Jack and Simon, were being asked about it all the time.

“It was the school holidays last week and it turned out to be a very hectic break - I was actually pleased to get back to work on Monday and back to normality.”

Christine admitted the unwanted attention over the false rumour has left her feeling rather put off by the idea of playing the Lotto at any level.

She joked: “You have to be in it to win it and after this episode I don’t think I’ll ever be in it.”

As the Advertiser went to press the mystery person who scooped the £113million Euro jackpot on Friday, October 8 had still not been officially identified.

Lotto organisers Camelot say they know where in the country the £2 ticket was bought.

A spokesperson said that if a winner does not come forward by tomorrow (Friday) only then will they reveal details of where in the country the winning ticket was bought.

So far the winner has lost around £100,000 in interest - a whopping £8500 a day.

The lucky numbers from the Euro Lotto draw for Friday, October 8 which was across nine European countries were 9, 30, 35, 39, 46 and lucky stars 6 and 8.