A fisherman from the Isle of Man is celebrating start of the New Year in style after scooping the top prize of ?250,000 on the ?250k Navy Scratchcard from National Lottery GameStore.
Aaron Dickinson, 25, from Douglas, said 2017 will be his best year ever following the win.
He said: “This will be the year when all of my dreams finally come true following my scratchcard win.
“I will be able to put a deposit down on my own home – something I never believed I would be able to do – and launch my own fishing business.”
Aaron currently works as a fisherman and sells the scallops he catches to fish markets in Peel.
But he now has his sights set on buying a boat of his own and opening his own business.
He added: “The win couldn’t have come at a better time. What a way to start the New Year.
“It is like all of my dreams have come true overnight. I can buy the boat of my dreams and start my own business.”
And Aaron says he will be enjoying some of his winnings seeing new places too: “I obviously want to be sensible and think about the future but I am going to enjoy myself too and may just splash out on a holiday or perhaps go travelling for a few weeks and see a few different places – something which would never have been possible without this win.”
Aaron, who bought the ?2 Scratchcard from the Spar in Douglas, said he was feeling lucky before he purchased it.
He added: “I bought the ?250k Navy Scratchcard with the last ?2 I had left in change in my pocket and won ?2. So I thought I would buy one more – I was feeling really lucky.
“I went for a walk and just scratched the card as I was walking. I thought initially I had won another ?2. And then I saw a 5 and a 0. I screamed, I thought amazing I have won ?250. Things like this don’t happen to people like me. And then I saw all of the zeros and realised it was actually ?250k!
“I honestly don’t think I have ever screamed so loudly in all of my life. I was literally screaming all of the way back to the shop – and running as fast as I could at the same time. When the shop confirmed it was a winning ticket I didn’t know whether to scream even louder or just burst into tears.”
The ?250k Navy Scratchcard costs ?2 and offers a 1 in 4.15 overall chance of winning a prize.
GameStore is the new home of scratchcards and online Instant Win Games from The National Lottery, offering players many different and exciting ways to play and win life changing prizes.
The National Lottery changes the lives of winners like Aaron as well as communities across the UK – players raise, on average, over ?30m for National Lottery-funded projects every week.
For more information on National Lottery funding please visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk.
