A couple are celebrating a second £1m National Lottery win after they beat 24-trillion-to-one odds of them winning both the EuroMillions Millionaire Maker and then five numbers and the bonus ball on the Lotto.
Richard Davies, 49, and Faye Stevenson-Davies, 43, celebrated their first £1m win in June 2018. The couple credit the power of positive thinking for their win.
Ms Stevenson-Davies said: “We always believed winning was possible, and once we scooped £1m and met hundreds of other lucky winners, we realised fairy tales do come true and there are winners everywhere!
“We knew the odds of it happening again were outrageous, but we’re proof that if you believe, anything is possible.”
While rare, double wins have happened before.
Neither partner fancies early retirement
Before their first win, Mr Davies worked as a hairdresser and Ms Stevenson-Davies worked as a mental health nurse.
Ms Stevenson-Davies used the 2018 win to return to university, gaining a second degree in counselling and therapeutic practice, while her other half hung up his scissors.
Since then, Mr Davies has started working seven days a week as a parcel courier after originally helping a friend out by doing the work just a couple days per week.
Ms Stevenson-Davies is utilising her new degree and now has her own practice and also provides counselling services for local organisations including Brecon & District Mind charity and The DPJ Foundation.
Mr Davies said: “Everyone keeps asking what we’ll do in the future, and we genuinely have no idea at present.
“The first time around we gifted people cars, we donated a minibus to the local rugby team, and did our best to help friends and family, it was all new and it was amazing to be able to make a difference.
“This time, who knows, we’ll take our time and enjoy the moment.”
How the couple managed it
Mr Davies said: “This win was not as simple as buying the winning ticket, it came to us through a series of four consecutive Lotto draws!”
Richard explained how “when you match two numbers in the Lotto draw, you automatically win a Lucky Dip for the next game and that’s what’s happened to us.
“We matched two numbers and won a free Lucky Dip from the draw on the 15 [November], which put us into the next draw and so on, until the winning draw on Wednesday 26 November.”
More from Sky News:
FIFA announces £45 World Cup tickets in price climbdown
Obamas planned to see Reiners the night they were killed
While another win was always a real possibility for the positive pair, they had other motivations for playing too.
Ms Stevenson-Davies said: “We’ve also seen first-hand, through our volunteering at projects that have received vital National Lottery funding, the impact players make.”
While the couple could easily swap Mid-Wales for Mauritius this Christmas, the community-minded pair have other plans.
Follow our channel and never miss an update
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Mr Davies will continue to work seven days a week so that everyone gets their Christmas deliveries, while Ms Stevenson-Davies is offering mental health support to her clients across the festive period, including Christmas Day.
Andy Carter, senior winner’s adviser at Allwyn, the operator of The National Lottery, said: “With a £15m Must Be Won Christmas Eve Lotto Draw, there is guaranteed to be more big winners, so if ever there was a time to believe in festive magic, now’s the time.”
