Saturday, October 10, 2015—Jon Heywood just won £13.2 million from an online gambling website. Heywood, 26, is an Afghanistan veteran who vows to spend the money helping his father receive a lung and heart transplant. He intends on spending the funds on the “best possible medical treatment.” Lance Corporal Heywood kept the secret of his sudden millionaire status secret for three days. He won the money shortly before midnight on Tuesday and went to work the next day. How he won the money is pure luck. Heywood saw a TV advertisement on October 6, 2015 for the only casino. He decided to sign up, deposited £30 and started making 25p bets on Microgaming’s Mega Moolah. He was only wagering for 7 minutes when the progressive jackpot hit.
Alan Alger, a Betway spokesperson stated, “We couldn’t be happier for Jon.”
Heywood decided to keep the win a secret because there would be an official presentation with his prize money Friday, October 9, 2015. He never dreamed of winning the jackpot on an online slot machine. The prize is also the world record for largest jackpot payout via online slot.
The win is 17,869,645.12 Euros. The payment is coming from mainland Europe, so it was awarded in Euros and with the current exchange rate of 1.3531 it is £13.2 million pounds. The last jackpot payout to hit such a high mark was set in Finland in 2013. It was a total of 17,961,813 Euros.
Heywood said he would gladly give the money back as long as his father can be healthy again. He has also spoken with media to say he will upgrade his Fiat Punto to the Bentley Continental GT. He is a Formula One fan and loves the Continental GT. He is also going to spend some of his winnings on his relatives who have wished to go on a Mediterranean Cruise.