BIG MISS
I won £1million but I’m really not fussed about it – I could have won WAY more if it wasn’t for silly miss
The EuroMillions winner says nothing compares to skydiving
A DOUBLE lottery winner who pocketed more than £1million has confessed he wasn’t that fussed about the money and said he could have won way more.
George Traykov, from Ilford, East London, scooped £1million in the EuroMillions Millionaire Raffle in September 2011.
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The Bulgarian property developer then won another £160,873.80 in the EuroMillions draw on November 16, 2013.
He said he missed out on the £12m jackpot by just one number but said he had some more tickets he needed to check.
Traykov, who is dad to a daughter, is an avid skydiver and always plays the lucky dip.
Speaking about his first win, Traykov said: "The first win enabled me to make a few changes in my life, most importantly sending my daughter Elaine to private school and maintaining her skydiving training."
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But when asked about his second win, he added: "I wasn't really that bothered - nothing compares with skydiving."
He said: "I missed the big jackpot by one number."
Traykov, who came to live in Ilford in 1995, said he will not move from the area.
He said he would be splashing the cash on a holiday to Cancun, Mexico, for a few weeks before starting to refurbish his three-bedroom home.
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Traykov said: "I've always worked very hard and never spent more than I have so money has never been a major problem for me.”
In 2016 though he was found to have built “beds-in-sheds” accommodation in Feltham, West London renting it out to couples for £600-a-month.
I won £1million National Lottery jackpot but brushed it off as ‘just a bit of pocket change’ after making silly mistake
The illegal hovel - built in 2012 - was hidden behind a £300,000 three-bedroom semi, also rented to Eastern European workers.
According to a council dossier, fed-up neighbours complained about all-night parties held in a gazebo, a sewage pipe in the garden, unsafe gas boilers, and cars blocking other residents’ drives.
Traykov at the time tried to blame a previous owner for building the shed even though old aerial photos showed it wasn’t there at the time.
The greedy millionaire also tried to pretend the tiny building was only a storage unit.
But when investigators from Hounslow Council raided they found it had been converted into a flat complete with a bed, kitchen and toilet.
A couple found inside admitted they were living there and paying rent.
Worse still, the internal floor space measured just 39 sq metres, far less than the 45 sq metres standard for two people.
I am not a slum landlord
George Traykov
Internet checks turned up adverts posted by Traykov seeking tenants for his “studio” on which no council tax was being paid at the time of the raid.
After an appeal against a demolition order was rejected, the millionaire’s workmen finally got rid of the eyesore in 2016.
Next-door neighbour Paul Kirby who led the local campaign, said at the time: “This has been going on for four years.
“I’ve had to spend all my time putting together documentation for the council to prove what he was doing.
“I feel really sorry for the occupants who have to live there.
“This man has no consideration of people.”
Traykov had moaned to Hounslow that their investigation was “personal and unprofessional.”
He insisted: “I am not a slum landlord.
UK's biggest lottery winners
By Ethan Singh
- Anonymous winner - £195,707,000
A UK ticket-holder scooped the record EuroMillions jackpot of £195 million on July 19 2022 – the biggest National Lottery win of all time.
The holder, who remains anonymous to this day, amassed the fortune with just one lucky ticket.
- Joe and Jess Thwaite - £184,262,899.10
Britain's previous EuroMillions record holders were Joe and Jess Thwaite.
The couple won a record-breaking £184million jackpot in May 2022 and shared hopes of a Hawaiian holiday and a new horse box for their children's ponies.
Joe bought his winning ticket online on May 10, 2022, and the following morning received an email with good news.
As he learnt of the huge win, he was in disbelief and initially kept it for himself as he did not want to disturb his wife, who was sleeping.
Joe, a communications sales engineer, and Jess, who runs a hairdressing salon with her sister, have been married for 11 years and have two children.
- Colin and Chris Weir, £161,653,000
Colin and Christine Weir landed the colossal prize money in 2011 and were Europe’s second-biggest winners until someone in Italy won a jackpot worth £193m in 2019.
They splashed the cash at an astounding rate of £100,000 a week before tragedy struck.
But at the time of Colin’s death in December 2019 his share of the prize money had dwindled by around £40m.
He spent the millions living a life of luxury, forking out for sports cars, property and the football club he supported.
Colin and Christine divorced shortly before his death after being married for 38 years.
He left money for their children Carly and Jamie.
- Adrian and Gillian Brayford - £148,600,000
Adrian and Gillian won 190 million euros in a EuroMillions draw in August 2012, which came to just over £148 million.
But Adrian split from Gillian the following year because of the stress of the win.
The couple bought a Grade II listed estate in Cambridgeshire, complete with cinema and billiards room, but it was sold in 2021.
After divorcing in 2013, he failed to woo ex-sausage factory worker Marta Jarosz — but fell for stable girl Sam Burbidge.
She left him in 2017, taking 30 prize horses Adrian bought.
It might have worked out in the end for Adrian though as the former postman was seen smiling with ambulance worker Tracey Biles last year.
- Frances and Patrick Connolly - £114,969,775
Former social worker and teacher Frances set up two charitable foundations after she and her husband hit the jackpot.
They scooped almost £115 million on New Year’s Day 2019.
She estimates that she has already given away £60 million to charitable causes, as well as friends and family.
- Richard and Debbie Nuttall - £61,000,000
The couple from Colne, Lancashire, took home £61 million on January 30 2024.
Both 54, they were enjoying a holiday in Fuerteventura, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary.
But they then discovered the big EuroMillions win.
Richard revealed they originally thought they had won £2.60, but then received another email telling the pair to check their account.
Other eye-watering anonymous winners:
- 2019 - £123million
Another anonymous winner scooped up a prize of £123,458,008 in the June Superdraw rollover.
- 2021 - £122million
Following nine rollovers, one ticketholder bagged the £122,550,350 jackpot last April.
The successful participant chose to remain anonymous.
- 2018 - £121million
Another anonymous winner found their fortune during the Superdraw jackpot rollover in April 2018, securing £121,328,187.
“It’s absurd.”
Then Councillor Steve Curran, Leader of Hounslow Council, said at the time: “We are delighted that Mr Traykov has voluntarily demolished his illegal outbuilding which, at one point, was being used to house tenants.
“Mr Traykov has buckled under the pressure of our planning enforcement team and has taken matters into his own hands, avoiding a court appearance, potential fine or direct action by us to demolish the building ourselves and bill him for the costs.
“Mr Traykov isn’t the only person we have in our sights.
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“All rogue landlords who build properties in our borough without planning permission can expect a knock at the door from our planning enforcement officers.
“Anyone who thinks they can get away with it should think again.”
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