EuroMillions · United Kingdom · 12 July 2011
The Weirs, a retired STV cameraman and a former psychiatric nurse from Largs in North Ayrshire, held the single UK ticket matching 17, 19, 38, 42, 45 and Lucky Stars 9 and 10. They went public at a press event in Falkirk days later.
Advertised prize
£161,653,000
Ticket
Not documented
Outcome
Gave it away
Gave away most or all of the prize.
Colin and Chris Weir of Largs, North Ayrshire, held the only ticket matching 17, 19, 38, 42, 45 and Lucky Stars 9 and 10 in the EuroMillions draw of Tuesday 12 July 2011, winning GBP 161,653,000 - then the largest lottery prize ever paid in Britain. Colin was a retired television cameraman at STV; Chris had worked as a psychiatric nurse. They gave on an unusual scale. The Weir Charitable Trust, set up in 2013, funds small Scottish community groups working in sport, recreation, animal welfare, health and culture. They donated GBP 1 million to the Yes campaign before the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, and funded local causes in Largs including a new 3G pitch. Colin invested in Partick Thistle, whose youth set-up was rebranded the Thistle Weir Youth Academy and whose Firhill stand was named after him; in November 2019 he took a 55% shareholding that he pledged to transfer to a fans' group. The couple divorced in 2019 after 38 years of marriage, and Colin died that December after a short illness, aged 71.
Colin Weir died in December 2019, aged 71, and his estate passed to his two children. Chris Weir has continued philanthropic work in Scotland and was announced as founding patron of a Prince's Trust Scotland initiative for young women (2024).
One detail worth keeping
A stand at Partick Thistle's Firhill was named after Colin Weir, and in 2019 he took a 55% stake he pledged to hand to a fans' group.
Frances and Patrick Connolly
Gave it awayEuroMillions · United Kingdom · 2019
£114,969,776
The winning ticket was bought online only because the Connollys had forgotten to pick one up during a shop run earlier on New Year's Day.
Andrew Clark
Stayed privateEuroMillions · United Kingdom · 2018
£76,369,807
The year he won £76m, Clark raised the money he put in his grandchildren's Christmas cards from £30-£40 to £200.
Neil Trotter
Went wellEuroMillions · United Kingdom · 2014
£107,932,603
Trotter told colleagues on the morning of the draw that by "this time tomorrow" he would be a multi-millionaire — and that night won £107.9m.
Jane Park
CautionaryEuroMillions · United Kingdom · 2013
£1,000,000
She won on the first lottery ticket she ever bought; the UK later raised the minimum age for National Lottery games from 16 to 18.
Frances and Patrick Connolly
Gave it awayEuroMillions · United Kingdom · 2019
£114,969,776
The winning ticket was bought online only because the Connollys had forgotten to pick one up during a shop run earlier on New Year's Day.
Andrew Clark
Stayed privateEuroMillions · United Kingdom · 2018
£76,369,807
The year he won £76m, Clark raised the money he put in his grandchildren's Christmas cards from £30-£40 to £200.
Lerynne West
Gave it awayPowerball · United States · 2018
$343,900,000
She learned she had won while the ticket was lost - it had fallen out of her purse onto the floor of her sister's pickup truck.
Pearlie Mae Smith and family (The Smith Family Lottery Pool)
Gave it awayPowerball · United States · 2016
$429,600,000
The matriarch is a church pastor who rarely gambled; her daughter told the official press conference the winning numbers reached her mother in a dream.
Every figure and quotation above comes from these.
Last verified: 2026-09-13