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By Matt Cannon
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A lucky couple are celebrating after winning their second seven-figure lottery prize, defeating "outrageous" odds.
Richard Davies and Faye Stevenson-Davies, from Wales, won a £1 million ($1.34 million) jackpot on the pan-European EuroMillions' Millionaire Maker game in June 2018, before scooping another £1 million on the U.K.'s Lotto on November 26.
The chances of the two wins combined are estimated at more than 24-trillion-to-one.
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"We knew the odds of it happening again were outrageous, but we're proof that if you believe anything is possible," 43-year-old mental health practitioner Stevenson-Davies said.
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A former nurse, Stevenson-Davies volunteers as a cook at Cegin Hedyn community kitchen in Carmarthen, and offers mental health counseling services to local groups.
In the run-up to Christmas, she plans to offer mental health support to her clients, including on Christmas Day, while Davies, a 49-year-old former hairdresser plans to continue working seven days a week as a courier, according to a Lotto news release.
"Everyone keeps asking what we’ll do, but we genuinely have no idea at present," Davies said. "The first time around we gifted people cars, we donated a minibus to the local rugby team and did our best to help friends and family. It was all new and it was amazing to be able to make a difference.
“This time, who knows? We’ll take our time and enjoy the moment."
The couple's second win came after another unlikely run. “When you match two numbers in the Lotto draw, you automatically win a Lucky Dip for the next game," Davies said. "That’s what’s happened to us. We matched two numbers and won a free Lucky Dip for the draw on November 15, 2026. That put us into the next draw and so on, until the winning draw on Wednesday, November 26."
The decision to go public was "something we didn't do lightly," Davies told BBC Radio Wales Drive.
"Since the first one, we've been involved in quite a few events with the lottery and charity," he said. "There's so much good out there and at the moment there's so much doom and gloom on the news. It's just a bit of cheer really."
Senior winners' adviser Andy Carter of Allwyn, the operator of the Lotto, told the BBC: "I saw the positive impact of that first win and know this second one will be just as meaningful."
Did Anyone Win Powerball Jackpot?
In the U.S., Powerball players are hoping to win a rare eight-figure jackpot.
The winning numbers on Wednesday, December 17, were: 25, 33, 53, 62, 66, and red Powerball 17.
With no jackpot winner, the top prize has risen to the fifth-largest in the history of the game, at an estimated $1.5 billion.
The next drawing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 20.
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