Look what I won in a raffle: £1 million!

Updated
Arthur Howard lottery win
Arthur Howard lottery win



When we're tempted to dabble in the Euromillions, it's the jackpot we have in mind - but if you have your eye on this Friday's £24 million - don't forget to check your raffle numbers too. Arthur Howard and his wife Emma, from East Kilbride in South Lanarkshire, are currently £1 million richer because they did just that.

They scooped the £1 million UK Millionaire Maker raffle prize. Arthur, a 73-year-old taxi driver, said the win had enabled him to stop work, and enjoy a well-earned retirement.

When you're offered the chance to win either £24 million or £1 million, it's hardly surprising you'll be drawn to the kind of enormous figure that will keep you and your family in the lap of luxury for life.
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However, there are five reasons why the Euromillions raffle is a better bet.

1. It's £1 million!
By anyone's reckoning it's still an enormous sum of cash. When Arthur told Helen about the win, his son told the press it was "without a doubt the happiest time of our lives."

2. It's a bonus
Nobody spends £2 on the Euromillions hoping to win the raffle, so anyone who has ever taken home this prize has already lost the prize they were hoping to get. It makes the raffle an unexpected bonus.

3. The odds are so much better
You automatically get entry to the UK Millionaire Maker raffle when you buy your Euromillions lottery ticket. For every lottery line you play, you get a raffle entry too.

Unlike the Euromillions game, the raffle is only available to UK players - so your odds of a win are higher. You stand less than a one in 116 million chance of winning the Euromillions jackpot - whereas your odds of winning the raffle depend entirely on how many people play - so on a quiet day can be better than 1 in 5 million.

4. £1 million may be a more sensible prize
Clearly this is a life-changing sum, but it's unlikely to mean you can stop work forever (unless you are a bit older). It means your life and work still have meaning, and you need to do more than take holidays and sit around for the rest of your life, but your financial headaches are solved.

5. The press have never camped outside a raffle winner's house
The UK's Euromillions jackpot winners have had their lives changed forever, and everybody wants a piece of it. The press is ready and waiting to pounce on any financial decisions they make, and pour over any lifestyle choices. The raffle winners, meanwhile, are left to get on with things.

But what do you think, is your head still turned by the remote chance of winning £24 million this Friday - or the much better chance of winning £1 million?



Couple Win £1m Lottery Draw for SECOND Time in Two Years
Couple Win £1m Lottery Draw for SECOND Time in Two Years

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