The Lottery Winner Who Lost

This is the tale of Mickey Carroll, the Lottery winner who lost everything. We’ve all fantasied about winning the lottery. Dropping out of our normal everyday job, steaming off on extravagant trips and purchasing grand houses. Of course the possibilities are huge when you have millions in the bank. However for one lottery winner, the fantasy turned into a bad dream.

Introduction: The Lottery Winner Who Lost

On Saturday 2nd November 2002, Michael Carroll’s karma finally came in. Having purchased a Lucky Dip for the National Lottery draw, his numbers turned out… 5 – 28 – 32 – 39 – 42 – 48. The 19-year-old was the only player with the triumphant numbers and he scooped a life changing £9,736,131.

Coutts said “No”

Funnily enough, Mikey Carroll was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet when he traded in his triumphant ticket. It was to be a bizarre portent for the future. He didn’t have a bank account when he won, and Camelot, the Lottery company recommended he join Coutts Private Bank. However, according to online lotto news in the UK, the renowned banking institution declined his application, most likely due to his criminal record. As we’ll see, Carroll added to his criminal record on numerous occasions following his success.

The “Lotto Lout”

For 10 stunning years, Mickey Carroll worked like a devil to keep up his notoriety for being the “Lotto Lout”. He used his £9.7million bundle to purchase alcohol, drugs, sex and friends. Carroll purchased a six-room home – “The Grange” – in Swaffham, Norfolk for £340,000. He then proceeded to spend around £400,000 on extravagant redesigns, including a pool and Jacuzzi. He likewise purchased some land encompassing the property, which he transformed into a banger-racing track. But before long, the extravagance property fell into deterioration. In spite of spending so much on the property, it was finally sold for a mere £142,000. Reports show that the once magnificent house was now a run down wreck. He says: “It lay derelict for about 10 years. My mate’s mum and dad lived in it until I kicked them out. I had another two houses, but it’s all gone – I sniffed ’em away.”

Best Years of my Life

The cash and the way of life are now a distant memory. Mickey clocks out of his £10-an-hour job as a coal man in Moray, Scotland, he says: “It didn’t turn out badly – it was the best 10 years of my life.” Sitting in work gear, he says: “I don’t look back with any regrets that’s for sure. It was 10 years of fun for a pound, you can’t go wrong with that. I wouldn’t want to turn the clock back. But I live a good, free lifestyle now and I’m happier because I’ve got my life back.” Surprisingly wise words from a lottery winner who lost everything. Would you do it differently is you won a ticket from theLotter?

Whores and Coke

At the point when he thinks back on those 10 years, it’s a wonder he can recall any of it. He says: “I’d wake up, do three lines of Charlie and drink half a bottle of vodka before I got out of bed. I was a full-blown alcoholic, doing two bottles of vodka a day.” He remembers wild holidays in Puerto Banus on the Costa del Sol with his mates. “We used to go to the local whorehouse because the girls there were better looking. We’d get our own drugs first and be high on cocaine by the time we rocked up at the brothels. I drank vodka and fresh orange, any lager, cider, or whisky, as long as it was wet. I’d wake up in some strange places.”

Give it all Away

The drinking and the brothel visits put an end to his relationship with his wife, Sandra Aitken, who was seven months pregnant with their little girl when his lottery numbers came up. Mickey, whose father died when he was 10, and who was raised by his auntie and uncle subsequent to being physically mistreated by a relative, promptly parted with £4million. He says:“I gave a million to mum, a million to my aunt and uncle because they took me in and I’ve always been close to them. I gave a million to the ex-wife’s mum, and a million to Sandra.” That left £5.7million begging to be spent.

Marriage Over

Sandra left not long after they were married, blaming him for going behind her back with escorts and his circle hangers on. While his significant other resented the unreasonable way of life Carroll was living, it was really after she left that Carroll’s shenanigans started to soar. He would hold alcohol fueled parties and he madden his neighbors with his noise and practical jokes. The local Government office even set up a hotline for neighbors to report aggravations. Mickey, who boasts of having slept with over 4,000 women, doesn’t deny any of Sandra’s claims. As he says: “I spent the rest of the money on drugs and hookers, holidays and cars.” He reveled in the title, “Lord of the Chavs”, often showing up in court on multiple occasions, for drunken driving and creating a public nuisance.

The Last Million

By 2005, his bookkeeper cautioned he was down to his last million and as the cash dwindled, the “companions” and hanger-on started to float away. By 2010, Michael Carroll was pronounced bankrupt. Enemies were likewise circling around and one morning he discovered his six Rottweilers dead, their throats cut. Mickey, who was imprisoned for affray in 2006, says:“Gangsters sent me pictures of my family. They threatened to chop my daughter up, and my whole family. These were dangerous guys, a Liverpool firm, so I paid them 130 grand. Afterwards they backed off for a while, then there was a bit of an altercation and the boys in London sorted it out for me.”

Penniless and Homeless

By 2013, Mickey was penniless, destitute and struggling to find some kind of employment in light of his notoriety. Carroll told the Sunday People Newspaper that he was on Job Seeker’s Allowance. He says: “I’d turn up at interviews and they’d say, ‘We just wanted to see whether it was you or not.” In the end he followed Sandra to Scotland, moving to Moray. There he lived in a homeless shelter for down-and-outs. Mickey says: “It was a dive, but I had food and beer, all good. I was homeless for three months. Easy come, easy go.” He said that he parted with over £3 million to loved ones. Other uses included around £1.5 million on drink and recreational drugs, £500,000 each on holidays and cars. He had put £1million in his preferred football crew, Glasgow Rangers, yet he later withdrew the cash and misused that as well.

New Life

He worked at the Walkers biscuit factory in Aberlour before starting in a slaughterhouse. He says: “I stayed there for five years until it shut down. I do miss the slaughterhouse. I loved it there. I’ve got my slaughterhouse license. I’ll never lose that.” He later landed his coal position and now works seven days per week. He says: “I’m a skint lottery winner. It’s got me quite a few women so I don’t mind. I’m living in a rented flat. I’m happy. I don’t have to look over my shoulder any more, no one’s going to hit me over the back of the head and rob me. I reckon I’m lucky to be alive. If I still had the money I’d probably be six feet under.”

Happy Memories

Figures show that in the initial half of this year, we burned through £3.9billion on lottery ticket sales. Buying from online lotto sites in the UK. Mickey is glad to praise the National Lottery’s 25th commemoration on Tuesday. He’s grateful for the occasions he had in the time of purchasing that £1 ticket in 2002. Remember that he was only 19 and filling in as a binman in Norfolk. Mickey still plays, however cautions: “Money really is the root of all evil. I do the lottery now and again. If it’s a big one I’ll chuck a few quid on it, hope to win and piss everyone off. If I won it again, I’d buy a house and go abroad for a while. Hangers-on just wanted to be around me for the money. I was a soft touch. That would be my advice to other winners. Don’t trust anyone, not even your f***ing family.”

Conclusion: The Lottery Winner Who Lost

Michael Carroll is a figure that has divided public opinion. From one perspective, he is a “chav” who wasted millions and turned into a public menace. Then again, maybe he was a youthful, credulous person who was controlled by fake friends and vilified by the media. Of course, there are many intriguing Lotto mogul stories. Even you have the same chance. You can play Lotto online at  the Lotter. But Michael Carroll’s excursion from normality to untold newfound wealth, and back to normality again, is one of the most famous. And certainly poignant. We wish him well.