ONE of the winning £33 million lottery tickets may have been bought in Bolton.

Rumours have been circulating on social media since last night that the ticket was bought at Morrisons Bolton.

However, lottery bosses have refused to confirm where the ticket was bought - and said there are rumours of it being purchased in several locations around the UK.

But a Camelot spokesman did confirm that a millionaire had been created at the store in the past six months.

A friend of a senior colleague who works at the Blackhorse Street Morrisons supermarket in the town centre said the store was sent an email on Monday morning advising colleagues check their tickets.

While a couple from Scottish borders have already claimed their half of the £66 million rollover draw last Saturday, January 9, one winning ticket holder is still outstanding.

 

But Mark King, a Waitrose store manager from Chorley, said that he had insider knowledge that the other winning ticket matching the numbers 26, 27, 46, 47, 52 and 58 was bought in Bolton.

“My friend works at the Morrisons store and he was sent an email from Camelot on Monday morning saying that the ticket that’s unclaimed was from their shop,” said Mr King.

“Everyone there has been in a frenzy. They have a syndicate so they were all checking their numbers.

“It’s still unclaimed, so it must have been bought by a customer.”

Mark said his friend, whom he didn’t want to identify, was also notified that the ticket was bought on Saturday – earlier on the same day before the rollover draw was made.

“He text me. He said: ‘you’re not going to believe this’ and told me that they’d all been told to check their tickets.

“I can’t believe that no one has claimed it yet.”

Paul Grimes, who works as a car park attendant at the store, said on Facebook: “I buy lotto every week and was told by a staff member to check my ticket as there had been a confirmed by Camelot millionaire winning ticket.

“I hadn't won but a person who bought a ticket here has rung the store confirming they have the winning ticket for 33 million. That's all I know.”

While National Lottery operators Camelot are yet to confirm the rumours, it could well be that a Bolton resident is sat on a life-changing multi-million pound winning lotto sum.

A Camelot spokesman said: "We have not confirmed where the ticket was bought. There have been rumours from all over the country.

"However, Morrisons in Bolton have received a plaque which says 'millionaire created here'.

"That usually happens three to six months after a win.

"We send that plaque out when a winner wants to remain anonymous but is happy for us to reveal where the winning ticket was bought.

"It does not relate to this most recent jackpot.

"If there is no claim on the £33 million prize in the next two weeks then we will reveal the area where the ticket was bought."

The Bolton News spoke to managers at the Morrisons store, who could not confirm whether the plaque was related to the £33 million jackpot.

The store received the plaque from Camelot on Monday, and it has since sparked a flurry of rumours and speculation.

Dana Hancock, store manager, said: “We know nothing about it, it just arrived on Monday and everyone has been talking about it since.”

The store also boasts another plaque revealing that a lucky shopper who bought a ticket for the health lottery won the jackpot.

Miss Hancock added: “I am gutted, because I buy my lottery tickets here. I might stop buying them here, maybe our luck has run out now!”

Store assistant Krystle Roberts a mother-of-four, said she would have no trouble spending the £33 million.

The 29-year-old said: “I would be out of here straight away! I would go and live abroad, maybe Portugal or America, somewhere sunnier than Bolton!”

Shopper Harry Shepherd, of Tonge Moor, said fast cars would be his first thought.

He said: “I think I would have an Aston Martin, maybe a Lamborghini. I would have the best car on the market!”

Prizewinners have 180 days after the draw date to come forward, meaning one lucky winner – perhaps from Bolton – has until July 7 to claim their prize of £33,035,323

Meanwhile, social media is abuzz with people who’ve heard the same rumour:-

10 things you could buy with £33m

  1. Buy Bolton Wanderers and pay the £14m being asked to cover debts and stop them from going into administration.
  2. Buy 34 Aston Martin One-77s - Channel your inner James Bond with one of the most expensive cars in the world (or 34 of them). Retailing at about £970,000, the One-77 is the fastest Aston Martin yet, hitting a top speed of 220mph and getting from 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds.
  3. 572 nights at the world’s most expensive hotel. At roughly £57,650 a night, the Royal Penthouse Suite at the Hotel President Wilson in in Geneva, Switzerland, is the most expensive hotel room in the world. Boasting 12 bedrooms and a list of prestigious guests such as Bill Gates and Michael Douglas, it also offers panoramic views of the Swiss Alps and Lake Geneva.
  4. Purchase 0.04% of Apple’s net worth – Apple is the most valuable brand in the world with a net worth of over £86 billion, which is more than double that of Google.
  5. Buy 50,769,230 copies of the Bolton News.
  6. Buy a Greek Island – The North Aegean island of Greece is currently on sale for 35 million Euros (or just over £26 million).
  7. Pay just over a third of Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi’s annual salary. Having just won his fifth Ballon D’Or, Messi rakes in $147 million each year.
  8. Buy Hamilton Terrace, St John's Wood, London for £32,000,000. The lower ground floor has a gym, pool, steam room and massage room. It also boasts four reception rooms, seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
  9. Donate £236 to every single person living in Bolton – 139,403 residents.
  10. We’re leaving this one blank as we want to know what you would do with all that dough…. Leave your wish list in the comments section below.