BECOMING the 554th richest person in Britain might seem like an unobtainable dream, but tomorrow everyone who has bought a Euromillions lottery ticket will be in with a chance.
The jaw-dropping rollover jackpot of ?100 million will make the winner as rich as Ozzy and Sharon Osborne, boxer Lennox Lewis and artist Damien Hirst – overnight.
Winning ?100 million puts the likes of actor Sean Connery who has ?82 million, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour with ?80 million, novelist Jackie Collins and her ?70 million and George Michael’s ?65 million somewhat in the shade.
It’s not surprising then to hear that tickets are selling fast and many of the city’s newsagents are seeing an increase in sales.
Odiz’s Newsagents, in Hill Close, Peterborough, is proving a popular place to buy one.
Shop owner Raj Odiz said: “Ticket sales have shot up because of the rollover.
“A guy came in this morning and asked for ?400 worth of Euromillions tickets – I can tell you it was a shock to me at seven in the morning.”
Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson will certainly be one of those joining the queue to buy a ticket.
He said: “If I won I would probably have a nice holiday, probably change my car and I would buy lots more toys for my daughter, who is two.
“I think long-term it would be good to set up some sort of trust fund to help disadvantaged people and children.
“I think my only extravagance would be to build a cinema for myself with a collection of my favourite films, but I would probably never get a chance to use it as I certainly wouldn’t give up being an MP.”
Rosie Sandall, from Longthorpe, is another person planning to try her luck.
Mrs Sandall and her husband John have spent years helping victims of the Chernobyl disaster and would love such a large amount of money to fund a charity project close to their hearts.
In the Ukraine, where they regularly visit throughout the year, a doctor earns just ?80 a month, the average wage is ?5 a week and a pensioner gets just ?6 a month, ?100 million would go a long way.
Mrs Sandall said: “We have always said if we won the lottery we would move to the area in the Ukraine where we go.
“If we won this time we would build new hospitals and improve facilities for the children who have cancer.”
Ninety-seven-year-old Alice Fraser, of Stevewooley Court, in Orton Malborne, would also give the money to charity.
She said: “I would give the money to a cancer charity. I think money can make a difference to someone’s life, but some just go mad about it.
“I would like to be able to do things for other people as I do try and help where I can.
“The first people I would help would be by two granddaughters. I would buy them each a house if they wanted to make sure they were alright.”
However, leader of the Peterborough City Council John Peach would invest the money back into the city.
“If I had that amount of money I could do what I want to do myself, which is to regenerate all the public space in Cathedral Square.”
According to Coutts & Co, HRH The Queen’s bankers, the winner of this Friday’s Euromillions would earn approximately ?12,300 per day in interest alone – that’s ?86,300 per week, ?375,000 a month and ?4.5 million per year.
Financial adviser Rebecca Taylor, of Dunham Financial Services in the city, said she would hope the winner or winners, would think about putting something aside for charity.
And she added: “I would advise the first thing they should do is enjoy themselves.
“I would like to think that with that amount of money, it’s not like winning a few million, so I hope people would take on a bit of responsibility and set up a charitable concern or fund a charity that can really help something close to their hearts.”
Euromillions tickets for the ?100 million jackpot rollover are on sale until 7.30pm and cost ?1.50.
