'We realised fairytales do come true' - Welsh couple celebrate second £1m National Lottery Win
A courier driver and mental health practitioner from Mid-Wales are experiencing their own Christmas miracle with a second £1,000,000 win, seven years after they won their first £1m.
Richard Davies, 49, and Faye Stevenson-Davies, 43 from Talgarth, who first celebrated a £1m win in June 2018, have magically matched five main numbers and the Bonus Ball in the Lotto draw on 26 November banking an extra £1m.
While according to experts at Allwyn, operator of the National Lottery, the odds of Richard and Faye winning both the EuroMillions Millionaire Maker and then five numbers and the bonus ball on Lotto are over 24 trillion to one, the couple credit the power of positive thinking.
Faye said: “We always believed winning was possible, and once we scooped £1m and met hundreds of other lucky winners, we realised fairytales 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.”
And as Richard points out, believing is the only way to comprehend the incredible turn of events that led to their second win, he 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 explains, “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 15th, which put us into the next draw and so on, until the winning draw on Wednesday 26 November.”
While another win was always a real possibility for the positive pair, Faye and Richard had other motivations too.
Faye said: “We always played believing in a win but we've also seen firsthand, through our volunteering at projects that have received vital National Lottery funding, the impact players make. From Richard using his hairdressing skills at a shelter for the homeless in Cardiff with Haircuts4Homeless to cooking up a storm at Cegin Hedyn community kitchen in Carmarthen, funding makes a huge difference, right across Wales.”
While Richard and Faye could easily swap Mid-Wales for the Maldives this Christmas the community-minded pair have other plans. Richard will continue to work seven days a week so that everyone gets their Christmas deliveries, while Faye is offering mental health support to her clients across the Festive period, including Christmas Day.
She said: “That first win meant I gave up work as a mental health nurse and could return to university, gaining a second degree in Counselling and Therapeutic Practice. I now have my own practice and also provide counselling services with local organisations including Brecon & District Mind charity and The DPJ Foundation. I feel blessed every day to be doing something so meaningful thanks to that first bit of luck, and I’m not going to abandon my clients with the second bit.”
Former hairdresser Richard adds: “After a while I was able to give up hairdressing, I’d been doing it since I left school. I put down the scissors before agreeing to help a friend out with a couple of days courier work, that was two years ago and I now do seven days and love it!”
He added: “Everyone keeps asking what we’ll do in the future and we genuinely have no idea at present. We may have believed, doesn’t mean we had a plan! 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.”
Andy Carter, Senior Winners’ Advisor at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, said: “I can still remember the day I met Richard and Faye for the first time, and it’s just as special to be with them as they celebrate their second £1M National Lottery win. To see the positive impact of that first win, I know that this second one will be just as meaningful.
“Players winning more than once is unusual but like all the best magic, not impossible. We have supported winners who celebrated double wins with us, and there are even a few lucky addresses dotted around the UK that I have visited more than twice!
“With more than 7700 millionaires that already been made in the UK, there are big winners in every corner of the country and maybe there is one down your street.”
With Christmas Eve promising a £15M Must Be Won Lotto Draw, it’s guaranteed that a lucky Lotto ticketholder will follow in Faye and Richards footsteps, making this a very memorable Christmas indeed, Andy 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. The Winners Advisor team are on stand-by to receive that winning call from the lucky someone!”
