Great start to Christmas for scratch card winner

A lunch break became a very valuable one.

Christmas got off to a flying start for a Polish IT worker today  when he scooped €20,000 on a festive Scratch Card bought when he popped out of the office to buy lunch.

And the windfall means Michal Janas, originally from the city of Slupsk in Northern Poland, may get back to his native country to visit his family over the Christmas period.

A stunned Michal, who lives with his wife Malgorzata and two sons Jan (11) and Jakum (8) in Ongar, Dublin 15,  was still in a state of shock when he called into National Lotto HQ this afternoon to collect his winnings.

Michal, who works with IT company IT Guys in Temple Bar, Dublin, won the top prize on a Merry Money Scratch Card he purchased in the Centra shop in Temple Bar during his lunch break.

He said:“I went out to get some lunch and decided to buy the Scratch Card. I could not believe it when I scratched it and saw I had won €20,000. I checked the ticket several times and then asked my colleagues to do the same. Once I was sure I had won I came straight to the National Lottery to claim my winnings!”

Michal, who has been living in Ireland for 13 years and working with IT Guys for seven years, said top of his spend wish list is a family holiday next summer probably to Tenerife. Michal also wants to do repair work to his car, and he may bring the family back to Poland over Christmas to visit relatives.

He said:“I need to let this sink in first. This is a dream come true what a great start to Christmas.”