British Couple Wins 'First Prize in Lottery' on 5th Try but Misses 284.6 Billion Won Prize Money

Photo by Rachel, captured from Instagram

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] A heartbreaking story has emerged from the UK about a couple who missed out on a lottery prize worth a staggering 284.6 billion won.

According to the British media outlet 'The Sun,' on the 1st (local time), Rachel Kennedy (19, female) and Liam McCrohan (21, male), a couple from Hertfordshire, UK, matched all seven numbers?6, 12, 22, 29, 33, 6, 11?in the lottery draw held on the 26th of last month, winning first prize but failed to claim the winnings.

They had purchased lottery tickets with the same numbers for five consecutive weeks, and finally experienced the joy of winning on the fifth try this February.

The total prize money was ?182 million, approximately 280 billion won.

Photo by Liam Twitter

Rachel, who is studying Business Administration at the University of Brighton in the UK, said, "I logged into the lottery application and saw a winning alert, thinking 'I've hit the jackpot,'" adding, "My boyfriend Liam and my mother also had expressions of disbelief."

Upon hearing the news, Rachel immediately called the lottery company to inquire about claiming the prize, only to receive the devastating response that "the winning numbers are correct, but there is no record of the ticket purchase."

It was later discovered that Rachel and Liam had been paying for the lottery through automatic bank transfers, but the payment for this particular ticket failed due to insufficient funds.

The lottery app sent the winning alert because the same numbers had been set weekly, but this did not actually mean they had won.

Having experienced a rollercoaster of emotions in an instant, the couple said, "It's bittersweet, but it seems our luck with these numbers has run out after five weeks," expressing their intention to try again with new numbers.

Meanwhile, Liam posted this story on his Twitter account, quickly receiving over 30,000 likes.