'Winning just feels brilliant' – Lichfield pub barman explains how he will spend lottery cash
A Lichfield bar manager is raising a glass to his good fortune after winning £100,000 in the National Lottery.
Dan Cater, 39, hit the jackpot when he played the Monopoly Gold Instant Win Game through the National Lottery phone app.
The married father-of-four is now planning a family and also looking to buy a house now he has a healthy deposit.
Dan, who works at the Acorn Inn J D Wetherspoon in Tamworth Street, Lichfield, said the win would have a big impact on his life.
"Winning just feels brilliant and it means I have some financial security for my family," he said.
"I don’t play The National Lottery all that often, I have won the odd 30 quid here and there.
"I played Monopoly Gold and won £5 and just left it there. Over the next couple of days I had a go here and there. I had been around my neighbours with the family, and after having a few drinks and playing some games, my wife and the kids went back home.
"I couldn’t sleep so had another go on my phone while sitting in bed and then noticed the message on the screen. I kept looking and looking and then I started screaming 'I have won!' My wife Kayleigh then started screaming too, we just couldn’t believe it."
Dan said the first thing he and Kayleigh, 38, did was to knock on the door of the neighbours they visited earlier.
"There was no answer so they called them," he added. "I couldn’t speak properly and our neighbours didn’t understand what was going on. At one point they said, 'just call an ambulance if you aren’t well?'. Kayleigh finally grabbed the phone and explained what had happened.
The timing couldn't have been better for the couple who had celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary.
They immediately went out and bought lots of hi-tech gadgets, and they plan to take their three girls and a boy to Disneyland Paris. They will use the rest for a deposit on a house, after renting for many years.
"We've never had that much money, pretty much going week-by-week, but this is a game-changer," said Dan.
"To be able to put a deposit down on a house is just amazing."
