Lotto player wins €100,000 prize on scratch card found 'buried at the bottom of my handbag'

A lucky Lotto player 'screamed with excitement' after she won a €100,000 prize on a scratch card which she had forgotten about and left sitting in her handbag for over a week.

The Cork woman bagged the life-changing prize on a €10 'Countdown to Christmas' scratch card which she had purchased from Costcutter's, Bridgeland East, Rathcormac, Co Cork.

The lucky scratch card winner made the trip to Dublin this week to collect her prize from National Lottery HQ, where she revealed that she was left 'in total shock' after her big win.

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“I bought the scratch card almost two weeks ago and had forgotten about it – it was buried at the bottom of my handbag," the Cork winner said.

"Last weekend, I decided to clear out my bag, and that’s when I found the unscratched card, so I got a coin and scratched it.

"I screamed with excitement when I matched three fireplaces, which meant I’d won the top prize; I was in total shock!”

Also claiming their winnings from Lotto HQ this week was a Kilkenny man who got the festive cheer underway early this year after scooping the top prize of €20,000 on a seasonal 'Merry Money' Scratch Card.

The player purchased the €5 winning Scratch Card at O’Keeffe’s Daybreak, Market Street, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, while making his way to work.

“I was sitting in the car, enjoying my morning coffee and decided to scratch the card before heading into work," the scratch card winner recalled.

"When I first saw that I won €20,000, I couldn’t believe it. I ran straight back into the shop to ask the assistant to scan the ticket to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. It wasn’t until then that I actually let myself believe the win.”

The Kilkenny player said he is unsure how he plans on spending his winnings, "but I’m certain there’ll be a sunny trip on the cards next year”.

This Christmas, the National Lottery has three festive scratch cards on offer, with a total prize fund of over €7 million up for grabs.

They are:

• €10 Countdown to Christmas
• €5 Merry Money
• €3 Hampers & Cash

Players will be entered into the second-chance Christmas Bonus Draw online for every Christmas scratch card they buy. One player will then win a whopping €5,000 prize every week across twelve draws.

National Lottery spokesperson Sarah Ruane said in a statement: “We are reminding our players and everyone hoping to spread the festive cheer with our Christmas games, to support our ‘Gift Responsibly’ campaign when purchasing any National Lottery product as a gift.

"National Lottery products are strictly for those who are aged 18 years and over and we encourage all of our players to gift responsibly, not only at Christmas but at any time of the year”.

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