We knew the laurel, symbol of victory.
But there would also be the laurel symbol of luck and wealth.
In any case, this is what a resident of Doudeville (Seine-Maritime) thought she understood at the end of 2023. So, it was with leaves of the Mediterranean plant slipped into her wallet that this Norman woman went to play Loto on January 15.
Two days later: jackpot!
The retiree and her husband won 20 million euros, the biggest gain ever won in the department, the Française des jeux (FDJ) estimated this Thursday in a press release.
When she fills her grid, as she has done for twenty years, at the café of the Hôtel de Doudeville, with a mixture of birthday dates and random numbers, one of the bay leaves escapes from his wallet and falls onto the counter.
But Normandy does not get it back.
“I didn’t pick it up, as if to leave luck where it should intervene,” she explains.
They toasted on video
The day after the draw, the couple checked their results on their mobile phone application: “I turned my phone off and on several times, I thought it was a bug.”
But this is the reality, the couple are now millionaires: “That same evening, my husband and I bought a bottle of champagne and toasted on video with our children.
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Also read: France has nearly three million millionaires, according to a report
While waiting to collect their winnings, the precious ticket is carefully hidden in a vase filled with shells and watched by the couple, who probably fear theft.
To the point that when handing in her ticket to the FDJ, the winner hums: “Liberated, delivered.
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Millionaire retirees want to first plan to keep their loved ones safe “to protect our children and allow our grandchildren to study”.
But the Normans also imagine a tour of France of gastronomy, work in their house, a new camera and the purchase of classic cars.
And then the couple also plans to offer “a gold bar every year” to their children and grandchildren: “It’s an investment that seems profitable for them.
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