“Imagine it’s a million” – Durham bar manager finds out


A bar manager from Durham has won over £1M on EuroMillions just before he jets off to Thailand. The holiday was a treat for working hard all over Christmas, but can now be upgraded thanks to his amazing win.

Kevin Piper, 55, bought the ticket as he remembered it was a special draw and decided to try his chances. The Durham bar manager won £1million on UK Millionaire Maker and chose the cash alternative to the Mega Week prize, an ultimate Hawaiian Adventure, giving him the grand total of £1,093,000.

Hard work pays off

After working throughout Christmas and new year in his job as a bar manager in his local social club, the Belmont Club in Durham, he decided to treat himself to a three–week holiday to Thailand for early March.

“This win couldn’t have come at a better time. I had been saving really hard for this holiday but now all of my money worries have been taken away. I am planning an upgrade into the best room in the hotel and I will definitely be having the holiday of my dreams – the world is my oyster now following this amazing win.”

Kevin, a keen golfer, says he will use the break to think about how he will spend the rest of his winnings. “I will just take my time – this is all so much to take in and it still doesn’t seem real. I think a new set of golf clubs and a new car will also feature high on the shopping list!”

Imagine it's a million

When he discovered his huge win Kevin still made it into work as he “didn’t want to let anyone down.”

“I always buy my lottery tickets from the Spar in Durham and I always check them in the same shop too. As the assistant put my ticket into the machine there was a strange noise which I hadn’t heard before and she just said to me I needed to call Camelot.

“I just thought it was probably several hundred, or at the very best, several thousand pounds. As I left the shop I said to the assistant, imagine if I have won £1m! Never did I believe this would ever be true!”

The win has made Kevin a millionaire but it is taking time for the news to sink in. “It actually still doesn’t seem real and I still cannot believe this has happened to me. I am unsure when it will actually all start to feel real!”

Kevin, who also won £70 on EuroMillions two weeks ago, says he has no plans to stop working and will continue to play Lotto and EuroMillions, “If it can happen to me twice, it can happen again!”

The amazing Mega Week draws take place each month with two big draws in one amazing week. They create £1m winners who also receive once in a lifetime luxury lifestyle experiences. Kevin’s winning UK Millionaire Maker code was XFRG 98785.


The National Lottery has been changing the lives of winners and supporting good causes across the UK since 1994. In that time, there have been more than 5,900 new millionaires created and by playing The National Lottery you raise £30MMillion for good causes every week.

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