'We can finally get the carpets done' - First thoughts after West Midlands mum scoops up life-changing £1m tax-free jackpot
A mum-of-two from the West Midlands is celebrating after becoming the first-ever winner of the Omaze Monthly Millionaire Draw – pocketing a life-changing £1 million, tax-free.
Naomi Newton-Sherlock, 47, was left stunned when the Omaze team turned up on her doorstep to reveal she’d scooped the top prize. Her first thought? “We can finally get the carpets done!”
The UK manufacturer employee lives in Worcestershire, just south of Birmingham, with husband Matt, 49, and their children – an 11-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son. Originally from Cambridgeshire, Naomi has been married to Matt for 18 years.
She had spent just £15 on her Omaze subscription when the life-changing win “came totally out of the blue”. Naomi had returned from the gym – training for a 100km Sahara Desert charity trek in November – when the doorbell rang.
“It was just a normal Friday night,” she said. “The last thing I was expecting was visitors, let alone to be told I’d won a million pounds. When Omaze first called I was dubious. My husband thought it sounded like a hoax and said, ‘If it’s a thousand pounds, we’re getting a takeaway curry tonight.’
“Then the next thing I knew the team were telling me I’d won a million. As soon as the total went past £100,000 I dropped to my knees. Winning a million pounds is utterly life-changing. My first thought was we can finally get the carpets done!”
The family are already dreaming big – from paying off the mortgage and taking a proper holiday, to a 50th-birthday trip to Japan for Matt. Their daughter has even set her sights on a horse.
The win is a welcome boost after a challenging few years. Naomi has been working full-time while Matt focused on raising the children after his business was hit by the pandemic. “This win takes the pressure off,” she said. “It puts us years ahead – we already feel lighter.”
Neighbours joined the celebrations, with locals from the pub raising a glass and the couple’s regular “driveway drinks” crowd insisting Naomi brings champagne next time. Until now, the biggest prize she’d ever claimed was a giant teddy bear from a work raffle.
Omaze president James Oakes congratulated Naomi, saying the monthly draw offers “a real win-win for entrants and for our charity partners”. Since launching in 2020, Omaze has raised more than £106 million for UK good causes.
Entries for the Omaze Million Pound House Draw in the New Forest are open now, with the Grand Prize Draw closing on 28 September 2025 for online entries and 30 September for postal entries.
An Early Bird prize of a Mercedes G-Wagon plus £100,000 cash is also up for grabs for those entering by mid-September.
For more information on how to enter, visit www.omaze.co.uk
