Builder wins $212 million in EuroMillions jackpot
A builder who won a £105 million (NZ $212 million) EuroMillions jackpot has pledged not to stop working after receiving the “life-changing” windfall.
Steve Thomson said he was “on the verge of a heart attack” when he realised he had won the lottery.
Thomson and his wife Lenka said their priority would be buying a new house with a bedroom each for their daughter and two sons, who currently share in a “shoebox” three-bedroom house in West Sussex.
“Everyone is going to have a good Christmas,” Thomson said. “Not sure what we are going to do, I am not cooking, Mum is not cooking, Lenka is not cooking. Christmas will be good this year, it really will.”
The 42-year-old said he would be “sensibly generous” with the money prize. “It’s so much money, I am going to be generous. I live in a small village, I do not want to leave the village, whatever I can do for the village, I will,” he said.
“I have to be sensibly generous. I still can’t get my head around it, one [million] would have done but I have got 105, it’s just amazing.”
Thomson said his children had their requests after learning about the jackpot. “My eldest’s reaction, he’s a very sensible kid, he said: ‘Dad, can I have my own room?’ I said: ‘No problem, of course you can son.’ My middle son said: ‘Can I have a Tesla,’ and my daughter asked for a pink iPhone and she’s going to get that.”
Despite having become wealthier than famous figures such as Emma Watson and Ronnie Wood, Thomson said he would not stop working as a builder immediately and would complete all his jobs before Christmas.
“Once I am over the shock I will need to keep doing something, I am not the type just to sit still. My business partner knows that if he needs a hand I’ll be there,” he said.
“At the end of the day I’m still Steve – and she is still Lenka – that is not going to change. We’re just better off financially.”