Shops braced for last minute rush as deadline for tonight's record £154m Euromillions draw looms
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Champagne celebration: Angela Kelly won £35.4m on the EuroMillions during 2007"
Shops were today bracing themselves for a stampede of hopeful players all desperate to buy the winning ticket for tonight's £154 million draw of the biggest-ever lottery jackpot.
After nobody scooped the prize on Friday for the twelfth draw in a row, ticket-holders are holding their breath for the prize, which has soared past the previous record of £126 million.
A National Lottery spokesman said: 'This is the biggest jackpot so there will be lots of demand for tickets and we urge players to get in as quickly as possible.
'We would advise them to buy them early in the day because when the door closes at 7.30pm there's always a last minute rush from people coming home from work wanting to buy one.'
The current prize is nearing the biggest amount the lottery can hand out, as it can grow to a maximum of 185 million Euros, or around £167million.
If a British single ticket-holder wins the top EuroMillions prize on Tuesday, he or she will eclipse the nation's record of £113million, scooped last October.
Multi-millionaires: Nigel Page and Justine Laycock won £56m in a EuroMillions draw in February 2010"
Previously, Britain has had a number of huge prize winners, some sharing jackpots in excess of £100 million.
Nigel Page and Justine Laycock from Cirencester won £56million in February 2010 after sharing their prize with a Spanish winner.
And three months later an unnamed British ticket holder won £84.5million.
Four years ago Angela Kelly, a Royal Mail administrator from East Kilbride, Scotland, won £35.4million, which at the time was the largest lottery win in the UK.
Lady luck: Shaun Vincent, 42, from Barnsley, won £1.15million on the National Lottery but didn't check his ticket for weeks after the draw"
How to play the Euromillions lottery
Players select five numbers from 1 to 50 and now two Lucky Stars from 1 to 11.
The EuroMillions draws normally take place in Paris, and five numbers are drawn along with two Lucky Stars. Match a minimum of two main numbers to win a prize.
Match five numbers and two Lucky Stars to win the jackpot, or a share of it.
The EuroMillions draws normally take place in Paris, and five numbers are drawn along with two Lucky Stars. Match a minimum of two main numbers to win a prize.
Match five numbers and two Lucky Stars to win the jackpot, or a share of it.
A National Lottery spokesman said: 'This is amazing news. If a single ticket-holder were to win they would soar to the top of the exclusive National Lottery Rich List.
'We know that players across the country love big jackpots and in addition to having a chance now to win a life-changing prize twice a week, by playing EuroMillions people are also helping to raise funds for good causes all over the UK.'
The spokesman added: 'Needless to say the champagne is on ice and we hope to be creating lots more UK winners in Friday's draw.'
But there was success for Shaun Vincent, who scooped £1.1million on the National Lottery after finally checking his ticket three weeks after the draw.
The meat factory worker, 42, said he hoped the windfall would lead to some luck with the ladies.
RETIREMENT COMES EARLY FOR LOTTO PAIR
Forklift engineer Chris, 61, was stunned when he checked the numbersand was convinced he had made a mistake.
'I don't think we slept on Saturday night-we just kept sitting and staring at one another with grins on our faces,' he said.
Sue, 60, who only retired ten weeks ago as an administrator, added: 'We have not slept for three nights.'
The first thing the delighted couple did on Saturday night was go to see Chris' 92-year-old father, who he plans to move into a new house with them.
Chris added: 'He was happy. We have got a nice house but I want to look after my dad.
'He lives near us but we just want him with us. He has looked after me so I will look after him the best I can.'
When asked whether it would make him more attractive to the opposite sex, he told the Daily Mirror: 'I presume so. It can't hurt, can it?'
No one had come forward to claim the £1,158,038 prize from June 11, until Mr Vincent spotted his numbers on a community website.
He now plans to buy a Liverpool season ticket, pay off his sister and mother's mortgages and take driving lessons.
For those looking to history to influence their choice of number, a National Lottery spokesman revealed the most, and least, frequently drawn numbers.
The most frequently drawn main number is 50, having been drawn 58 times, most recently on 28 June 2011.
The least frequently drawn main number is 28, drawn 28 times, last on 27 May 2011.
According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2011, if a single UK ticket-holder scooped the entire £154million jackpot, they would be richer than Beatles legend Ringo Starr and Jimmy Choo co-founder and shoe fanatic Tamara Mellon both worth £150million.
By winning the entire £154m jackpot the player would instantly become the joint 454th richest person in Britain.
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