Those lucky enough to win the jackpot on the lottery will know from the moment their numbers were called; their lives were never the same again.
One ticket holder from Ireland scooped a record-breaking €250m (£208m) in the Euromillions Lottery jackpot on Tuesday, after nobody won the jackpot in the draw last week.
Most of us have planned what we would do in the dream situation of winning millions in the lottery, from exotic holidays to retiring early.
But what actually happens after the adrenaline rush of realising you’ve picked the lucky numbers?
People have spent their money in the past taking their pets on private jets or having a celebrity chef to come and cook Christmas lunch, says Andy Carter Winner’s Adviser at Allwyn, the operator of The National Lottery in the UK.
Mr Carter is the main point of contact for those who have won the big bucks in the lottery in the UK.
He goes visits winners, validates their claim, organises payment and talks them through their next steps to make sure they have the support and advice they need.
But the first piece of advice Mr Carter gives winners is to take some time away, take a holiday and let it sink in. He explained the winnings are paid in one lump sum- meaning it can be very overwhelming.
“It’s a huge amount of money, it’s a big shock for people and they just need to sort of take their time on it,” he told the Independent.
“You went to bed with your life as it was, and you’ve woken up and won £200m. That amount of money is beyond questions of whether or not you at work, or whether you pay the mortgage or not.
“That is about generational wealth,” he added.
“The people who won this money will be able to help out their great grandchildren and great, great grandchildren who haven’t even been born yet.”
In the weeks after winning life-changing amounts of money, Mr Carter makes sure winners have access to legal advice, financial advice and well-being advice.
“We make sure they have access to other lottery winners as well. If you’ve won all this money, the best thing you can do is go and have a cup of tea with someone else who’s won because they’re the people that will truly understand,” he said.
Less than 20 people in the UK have won lottery prizes of more than £100 million, Mr Carter explained.
Financial advice is vital for people who have never had to handle this extortionate amount of money.
Most people spend their lives making financial decisions on paying off the mortgage, retiring or buying a house.
But lottery winners are suddenly burdened with making huge financial decisions.
“Everything you’ve ever known about money has changed,” Mr Carter said.
“People sit around in pubs across the country thinking what they would do if they won. But when you do win it becomes slightly more serious, and people do probably more conservative things than they perhaps thought they would do,” he added.
But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t advise people to enjoy their winnings, celebrate and tick off bucket list items.
Allwyn partners with a concierge service that can arrange bucket list items for winners. They can arrange meetings with celebrities, grand proposals, holidays and arranging private jets.
“You don’t want to look back on it in years to come, and I didn’t make the most of it,” he said.
