Dave Williams, a 60-year-old mechanic from Cardiff, won £1 million on the EuroMillions MillionaireMaker draw in 2024 and used the prize to buy a house in a forest for himself, his wife Sarah, and their six dogs. Despite the windfall, he has never stopped buying lottery tickets every week.
A dream home for the dogs
Before the win, Dave and Sarah, 57, lived in a three-bedroom semi-detached house in Whitchurch, Cardiff. Their dream was to find a place where they could open the door and let their dogs run free in the countryside.
"It changed my life. We were living comfortably but our passion is dogs, we got six dogs and our dream was to find somewhere where we could just open the door and set the dogs out. So we bought a house in the middle of a forest," Dave said.
Luxuries and a difficult past
The win also funded a cruise with friends and motorbike trips to Spain. Dave said, "We did do a cruise with friends of ours. The other thing that I do quite a lot as well is, I go to Spain on my motorbike. I had a week at home and then off to Spain, a week on the boat. That was good fun."
The couple's win came after a tough period: Dave was treated for throat cancer and lost half his jaw in surgery, while Sarah faced a spinal issue that caused constant pain and affected her movement. They described the win as "the light at the end of a very long tunnel."
Still playing every week
Dave, who married Sarah in 2011, still owns his motor repair business, though his daughter handles day-to-day operations. He continues to buy lottery tickets every Wednesday and Saturday, and has only missed two draws in 31 years.
"I've played the lottery ever since it first ever started I've done it every week, and then when the EuroMillions came out I started doing that too. I wouldn't say that I feel lucky. You play because you know there's a chance of winning," he said.
"Even when I've been abroad, on my own, I've actually rung home and given my numbers to my wife and told her to do them. I think in all the years it's been out, I think it's 31 years now, I think I've missed it twice."
No change, no new car
Dave insists the win hasn't changed him or his wife. "I personally don't think that I have changed at all. My wife definitely hasn't changed. She's still the same old person she was before," he said.
He also turned down advice to buy a new car, telling advisors he already had one—an Audi RS Q8. "I remember, the advisors that spoke to me said, 'Oh, you'll be buying a new car.' And I said, 'No, I just bought one.' And they said, 'No, you need to buy a really nice car,' and I said, 'No, I just bought one.' And they then asked me what I bought, and I said, 'Well an Audi RS Q8'. That's when they went 'Yeah, point taken.'"
Dave and Sarah celebrated their win with a meal out, treating seven close friends. Dave matched the winning code VZDS62828 in the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker, which guarantees to create a millionaire in every draw.
