The €12,155,282 Lotto jackpot winner has so far managed to remain invisible in a seaside town where most locals know each other.
But betting in Bundoran, Co Donegal, were on odds that the lucky punter was more likely to be a local than a visitor.
Brian McGovern, owner of the American House – the newsagent and souvenir shop that sold the winning ticket – in Bundoran, said yesterday that only a small number of customers bought €12 Lotto tickets.
It was a quickpick line on a €12 ticket bought on Wednesday that scooped the biggest lottery prize ever won in the northwest.
“Most of the €12 tickets are for local syndicates,” said Mr McGovern. “The richer single people in the town also buy €12 tickets, but most of the other customers settle for €4 tickets.”
Shop assistant Majella Hegarty, who has worked in the American House for 21 years, said that among the first into the shop yesterday were American and German visitors, who were anxious to buy tickets in the hope of a repeat win this Saturday.