On The House

The Mallard, a pub in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire must have a strong claim to being the luckiest drinking establishment in the land after the landlord became the third regular to win £1million on the National Lottery.  Ian Brooke has been at the Mallard for the past 18 years so would presumably have been all too aware that the pub had previous form when it came to hosting lottery winners: a David and Kathleen Long, two of his regulars, remarkably became the first people to win a Euromillions £1m jackpot twice, following up their first win in 2013 with another in 2015.  It seems lightning doesn’t strike twice but three times.  What’s more, the 43 year old intends to share his prize with two of his friends, as he explains, “After discovering I had won £1m I immediately went down to the pub where my friends were drinking and took them into a back room,” said Mr Brooke. “We always had a gentleman’s agreement if one of us won we would share the prize.”  As for how he plans to spend his share of the winnings, first up is to buy a holiday pad in Benidorm, Spain along with cars for his four children. And for those wondering, the chances of winning the raffle at all, let alone being from the same pub as previous winners, well there’s more chance of being struck by lightning. Must be something in the beer.