Teenager Sam Lawton Wins Set For Life With First Ever Ticket

Updated: Wednesday 21st August 2019

A teenage dad from Leamington Spa has won £10,000 every month for a year playing the National Lottery's Set For Life. The young dad is set to receive £120,000 over the course of the next year after winning the second prize in the draw on Monday 12th August.

Speaking about his win, the 19-year-old said, “It's quite surreal, just the concept of winning the lottery at such a young age. The feeling hasn't quite set in yet.

“£120,000 is an unbelievable amount of money to win,” he added, “and if we were older we'd be able to retire on it but what we do with this money now could help to set us up for life. It opens up a lot of opportunities for us.”

Sam lives with his partner Connie and they have a one-year-old son together. The winner said he planned to use the money to put down a deposit on a house and take a trip to New York with his partner.

He also wants to learn to drive, as he currently has to get a lift in to work from Connie or walk for an hour to his office. “There’ll be no more ubers or taxis,” Sam told the media at the Coombe Abbey Hotel on Tuesday, revealing that he would take an intensive driving course so he would be in a position to buy his first car as soon as possible. Connie added: “And no more Connie’s taxi.”

Sam matched the numbers 3, 20, 26, 27 and 32, just missing out on the Life Ball of 5. Remarkably, it was the first time he had ever played the lottery, as he had only decided to buy a ticket after seeing a television advert earlier in the day.

Recalling the moment that his win was verified, Sam added: “I called to confirm that we had won and the guy on the helpline put me on hold to go and check. It was an intense five minutes. I was expecting him to come back and tell me it was a mistake. But we got the confirmation and our emotions have been running high from there on.”

Set For Life Prizes Give Financial Security

If Sam had matched the Life Ball as well, he would have received £10,000 every month for 30 years, adding up to a total payout of £3.6 million over the course of the next three decades. Previous winners of the top prize have included Peterborough’s Dean Weymes, who matched all the numbers on 29th July and immediately quit his job with Amazon to pursue his passions.

Set For Life was only launched in March as the National Lottery’s first annuity game, giving players the chance to win a different type of prize. Rather than other games which offer large one-off jackpots, winners in Set For Life receive regular payments over a longer period of time.

The advantage here is that you have the financial security of knowing that another payment will be coming at the start of every month for as long as your winner’s period lasts. The game was designed with younger players in mind and Sam’s story shows how the game connected with him instantly.

While he looks forward to a wonderful year ahead and the chance to set his family up for life, the game will continue to be played every Monday and Thursday evening at 8:00pm. Check out the latest Set For Life results straight after every draw.

Published: Tuesday 20th August 2019

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