Cleaner Pocketed £1.2m Bingo Jackpot
Soraya Lowell, a 38-year-old cleaner from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire won what is believed to the biggest cash winning ever in bingo history. Lowell pocketed £1.2m at the Club 3000 bingo hall in Coatbridge.
National Bingo Game bigwigs went a step further by saying that Mrs. Lowell brought home the biggest bingo winnings in the world. Mrs Lowell won the National Bingo Game and its Platinum Jackpot, netting £1,167,795. Her win beats the previous record set by Christine Bradfield, from Merthyr Tydfil, who won £1.1m in January 2008.
Asked on what she planned to do on her winnings, Mrs. Lowell wanted to give half of it to her 68-year-old neighbour Agnes O'Neill who always accompany her to bingo games. She explained why, "we always share whatever either of us wins and this time will be no different."
Mrs. O’Neill was thrilled with her friend’s gesture. The winnings proved to be a huge blessing for her - "I have had a rough time the last three years - I have been very ill and Soraya has cared for me which meant my husband did not have to retire early.”
When Mrs. Lowell declared house on the last number 90, the bingo hall broke into cheers. Loud shouting can be heard. Players were ecstatic as they learned Mrs. Lowell got the jackpot. An impromptu party happened. The players partied all throughout the night, continuing the celebration at the home of the winner together with their neighbors until 6am the next day.
Frankie, Mrs. Lowell’s husband, was the first person she called to announce her win. But Frankie would not believe her and handed the phone to their eldest daughter. The daughter could hear the loud cheering in the background and confirmed what her mother said.
Mrs. Lowell’s affair with bingo started as a young child when her grandmother brought her to bingo halls. The jackpot was her first win ever, and a very grand win at that.
Even if she raked in huge money, Mrs. Lowell still wanted to continue working. She works as an office cleaner for a living. She said "I like the girls I work with, and they have already told me not to pack it in."