Damien Furlong and Sarah Masterson (proprietor), The Kiosk, Abbey Centre, Enniscorthy. Pic: John Walsh

THERE WAS great excitement in Enniscorthy as it emerged that the country’s newest millionaire had bought their ticket in The Kiosk shop in the Abbey Square Shopping Centre.

The latest jackpot winner picked up a particularly nice Christmas present of €2.9 million with their winning ticket.

And it emerged later on that the winning ticket belonged to a syndicate of 17 nurses from the cardiac unit in Wexford General Hospital who will each receive €170,000 from the winnings. It is understood that 12 of the nurses are retired while five are still working.

The group is believed to have been playing the lotto in the syndicate for over 17 years but it was rumoured that, during a meeting on the day of the draw, they had planned to give it up at the end of the year. A few hours later, their numbers were drawn!

The Kiosk, which was taken over by Sarah Masterson three years ago, was particularly hive-like on Thursday morning as locals milled in and out to suss out the big news of the day.

Ms. Masterson explained that she had received a phone call at 8:20 a.m. that morning to inform her that she had sold the winning ticket: “To be honest I’m still on cloud nine. There’s a great buzz in the place. It’s a great boost for the town and for the shopping centre here.”

The ticket is the biggest winner the shop had sold since she had taken it over.

“We’ve sold a few winning €5,000 cards, scratch cards and radio bingo cards but nothing as big as this,” remarked Ms. Masterson.

All morning, locals flocked through the centre and the sense of good will towards the winners was palatable.

One woman, on being told the news, remarked: “The big one? Oh thanks be to God, that’s great news!” before turning to a friend and joking: “You didn’t win the Lotto did you?”

Another woman voiced her best wishes: “I wish them well with it whoever they are!”

This is the first big win in Wexford since June when one player in Gorey won €1 million.

The biggest win recorded in the county was in October 2012 for a jackpot prize of €7.3 million. That ticket was sold in Lawless’s Shop, Boolavogue.

In total, Wexford players have won a total of €69.9 million on Lotto jackpots since the beginning of the game.