A lifelong boxing fan from Merthyr Tydfil has landed the ultimate knockout blow after scooping an incredible £1,000,000 on The National Lottery.
Peter Rogers (73), who landed the £1M win after matching five main numbers and the Bonus Ball in the Lotto draw on 6 September, has followed the sport passionately since childhood, and says his win feels like “the biggest victory of his life.” Known locally for his love of boxing and his support for the town’s proud fighting heritage, having even published a book about the boxing scene in Merthyr Tydfil, Peter’s incredible win will allow him to step into a new round in life.
Peter said, “I decided to play Lotto quite spontaneously whilst I was doing some food shopping and picked a random selection of numbers. When I later realised I’d won, I genuinely did not believe it. The shop assistant scanned the ticket and the screen said I had to contact The National Lottery. I assumed there was some kind of glitch and I even went to another shop to double-check because I thought it couldn’t be real.
“Even when I realised that there was no glitch, I didn’t for a second think it would be a £1M win! It is still sinking in now that I have won such a life-changing amount of money – it’s like hearing the final bell after the fight of your life.”
Merthyr Tydfil is famous for its boxing champions, with statues of legends such as Johnny Owen – who was the first Welshman in more than 60 years to hold the British bantamweight title when he won in 1977, and Eddie Thomas who won the British welterweight title in 1949, dotted proudly around the town. Peter’s claim to fame is he used to train with a number of Merthyr boxing heroes back in the day and has always felt inspired by local legends who’ve made their mark in the ring.
“There’s such a strong boxing culture here,” he said. “I’ve always looked up to the fighters who’ve put Merthyr on the map.” Now, after looking up to such legends celebrating their big wins, Peter can celebrate his own big win.
Peter, who hopes to travel to New York and watch a major boxing match, says the win will give him the chance to tick off his lifelong dream – while still staying true to his roots. “I’ve always wanted to go to New York to see a big fight night at Madison Square Garden – now I can finally do it!”
Boxing aside, Peter is surrounded by a tight-knight family who are equally as happy and shocked about the win. He and his wife, Rosa (73) – who share three children together, currently live in a house in the centre of Merthyr, but the win will now allow the couple to move to a new bungalow which will massively help the couple to live more comfortably due to Rosa’s current poor health.
Peter said, “Being able to provide a new home more suited to our needs means more to me than anything else I could do with the money – and I can’t wait to start the house hunting.”
Andy Carter, Senior Winners’ Advisor at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, said, “Huge congratulations to Peter and his wife Rosa on their incredible £1M Lotto win! We wish them all the best as they start their exciting new chapter together. It’s always so wonderful to see how such a life-changing win can make such a meaningful difference to people – and in this case offer a new home and a chance to fulfil a life-long dream!”
