A barman from Wales could not believe his luck when he realised he had won a multi-million-pound mansion in Cornwall after paying £20 for a ticket in a prize draw.
Darren Summers' Lucky Win
Darren Summers, who works as a barman at the Pencelli Hotel in the Rhondda Fawr valley, won the £3.5 million mansion, which sits on an acre of clifftops above Downderry Beach near the quaint town of Looe, in an Omaze competition.
Mr Summers, 50, who said he has never even been to Cornwall before, recounted that he was pouring pints during a busy shift when Omaze rang to tell him he had won the prize along with £250,000. He initially dismissed the call and laughed it off, but soon realised it was true.
Moments after celebrating by giving away drinks to punters "on the house," he became the proud owner of the huge four-bedroom home, complete with panoramic sea views, a heated outdoor swimming pool, and a hot tub.
Property Details
The property sits on a cliff top in Cornwall and comes mortgage-free, with all stamp duty and legal fees covered. Mr Summers can choose to live in the house, rent it out for supplementary income, or sell it to become a cash multi-millionaire. If he chooses to rent it out, local estate agents estimate that the property could achieve a long-term rental value of between £5,000 and £8,000 per month.
He said he has yet to decide whether to keep the property for himself and his family or let someone else live there.
Background and Reaction
Mr Summers, who bought his winning entry for just £20 as part of his Omaze subscription, manages the Pencelli Hotel in Treorchy, while his wife of eight years, Rebecca, 36, works as a healthcare support assistant for NHS Wales.
Mr Summers said: "I was in the middle of pouring pints during a busy shift behind the bar when Omaze rang. I eventually picked up, but when they said I’d won a prize I thought: 'Yeah right.' I hung up and just carried on working.
"Then my colleague said there was a film crew outside, and that's when I thought: 'This might actually be real.' The next thing I know I'm the owner of a £3.5 million house in Cornwall. To say I was shocked is an understatement."
Remembering what he did after coming to the realisation he had won the amazing property, he said: "I called my wife straightaway, but she didn't believe me, she had no idea I’d even entered, so she was doubly surprised. She was on speaker phone and almost needed bleeping herself too, she was totally gobsmacked.
"It wasn't your average shift, that's for sure. I sometimes get the odd half of beer bought for me, so a £3.5 million house is definitely my biggest tip ever. First thing I said was: 'If anyone wants a pint, the drinks are literally on the house tonight.'"
Mr Summers said he has actually never visited Cornwall. "The house looks like somewhere a movie star would live," he laughed. "It's absolutely breathtaking. We've always wanted to go to Cornwall but neither of us have ever been before.
"We thought maybe we'd come here camping one day, but now we'll be staying in our very own mansion. It's hard to get your head around it, it's so crazy.
"We're going to have an awesome summer. We love big get-togethers with all our family and friends, and this place is the ultimate house for hosting.
"We'll be throwing barbecues by the pool all summer. We've got nieces and nephews, so I think we’ll be the favourite auntie and uncle now thanks to this place."
Mr Summers, who joked that he was "going to be so popular we might have to change our numbers," said the win has "changed everything" for him and his family. "All the pressure and money worries have disappeared overnight," he said.
"Myself and my brothers, us three boys, lost our mum and dad when we were young, so we only had each other growing up, so we're very close.
"Rebecca has lost her father and family members in the last couple of years as well. It felt like we were getting nothing but bad news recently, but this life-changing win has come at just the right time for us and for our family."
House Features
His new home has been designed with floor-to-ceiling glass doors opening directly onto a coastal dining terrace, and the heated swimming pool beyond, with stunning sea views. Spanning 3,425 sq ft across two floors, the ground floor features an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area, a home office, a main bedroom with en-suite, and a second bedroom with a shower room.
The lower ground floor offers a generous lounge and two further en-suite bedrooms. Outside, the property sits within just over an acre of grounds with the heated swimming pool, a wood-lined barrel hot tub, and a sculpture garden featuring ten original artworks.
Charity Partnership
As well as making Mr Summers a multi-millionaire, Omaze partnered with Eden Project, an educational charity that demonstrates and inspires positive action for the planet by reconnecting people with the natural world. Alongside the guaranteed £1,000,000 raised through the draw, Omaze has also committed a further £3,500,000 through a separate multi-year grant, bringing the total contribution to Eden Project to £4,500,000.
To date, Omaze has awarded over £200 million in total prize value to people in the UK, creating more than 50 millionaires. Draw entries for the latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw in Surrey are available now at omaze.co.uk.
