(PRESS RELEASE) -- A British Army soldier has become an overnight mega-millionaire after landing an incredible £13,213,838.68 jackpot on
Betway Casino.
Lucky Jon won the eight-figure fortune from a tiny 25p stake.
The good news comes after a bad year for the 26-year-old from Cheshire, England.
His granddad passed away last month and his father is waiting for a heart and lung transplant.
“I couldn’t believe that I’d won all this money at the time – and it still hasn’t sunk in.
“It’s amazing. The first thing I will spend it on is the best possible medical treatment for my dad. That’s more important than anything. Family comes first and I’d give all this money back for him to be healthy again,” said Jon.
He also plans to pay for his relatives to go on a Mediterranean cruise, but the Formula 1 fan does have his eye on one indulgence for himself – a new motor.
“I’m trying not to get carried away and I really don’t know what else I’m going to buy with the money, apart from a yellow Bentley Continental GT.
“I never even dreamed of driving a Bentley, let alone owning one. I’ve got a Fiat Punto at the moment!” said Jon.
He scored the huge prize when playing Microgaming’s
Mega Moolah game on
Betway Casino on Tuesday (October 6) at 11.37 p.m.
He deposited a total of £30 and was placing 25p bets – having only decided to play after seeing a TV advert for
Betway’s online casino. The winning spin came after just seven minutes.
“We couldn’t be happier for Jon – he’s an incredibly nice guy and his family will benefit immensely from his huge win,” said Betway spokesman Alan Alger. “It just shows that the biggest prizes can be won from the smallest stakes – Mega Moolah has really lived up to its name.”
The life-changing prize is also set to be a world record.
Thanks to a euro-to-pound exchange rate of 1.3531 at the time of the win, it is worth a whopping €17,879,645.12, beating the previous landmark of €17,861,813, set in Finland in 2013.
Jon, who has toured Afghanistan and travelled the globe with the Army, had to keep the big news quiet until Friday’s official presentation of the prize.
The dedicated soldier even went to work the day after he struck it rich.
“The only people I’ve been able to tell so far are my superiors at work, my girlfriend and my parents. No one thought it was real. They might do now they’ve seen my picture in the paper!” he said.