Meriem remains as surprised as ever.
This waitress at the tobacco bar “Le Purple Café” in Saint-Étienne (Loire) witnessed with emotion the winning of one million euros by a regular of the place on Sunday February 25, after a winning Millionaire ticket.
“He played regularly.
Often at the Millionaire by the way.
I told him that the probability of winning was minimal in this game, that it could perhaps vary, but he answered me:
I believe in it, I will win
the million
,” she said this time. Friday morning at Le Parisien.
However, he had never won large sums, “500 euros or 100 euros at most”
The ticket kept in the safe
Faced with his client's successive failures, Meriem even advised him to “slow down” and play a little less gambling.
But on February 25, when he asked his tobacconist to select a few tickets for him, he didn't think she would have a lucky hand.
“He had a coffee and went to sit in a corner with his games.
And suddenly, I saw him get up, jump around the bar saying:
I have the million!
I have a million!
» Faced with other customers, Meriem tempers her regular's joy a little.
“I thought he had won 10,000 or 50,000 euros,” she tells us.
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But by passing the ticket through the machine to validate the win, there is no more doubt: the establishment must contact the “big winners” service.
Meanwhile, the lucky winner, excited by the news, leaves the establishment.
“He just said to me:
I have to go!
», recalls Meriem.
Faced with the curious people who gathered in front of the counter to see the precious ticket, she made the decision to put it in the establishment's safe, until the winner reappeared.
A sum that will allow the winner to “buy a house”
During this time, the Française des jeux had contacted her: “They asked me for the lot number to make sure it was correct, then the name of the winner.
And then I had to tell them that I didn't know because he wasn't there!
» Fortunately, “two or three hours later”, the young man returned with a friend to complete the formalities.
She mentions a young man “between 25 and 30 years old, who works in construction”.
In the days that followed, the lucky winner returned to the bar to play again, waiting for his winnings, which he will receive via the “big winners” service of Française des jeux.
He told Meriem that he now wanted to “buy a house and help his family”.