National survey predicts what the new EuroMillions winner will do first

Wed, 20 Feb, 2019 - 15:18

Anna O’Donoghue

As the news emerges that the winning EuroMillions ticket was sold in Reilly’s Daybreak in Naul, Co Dublin, people have been moving on to speculating how the winner will spend it.

Along with asking everybody from your mother’s sister’s friend to the local pet groomer ‘what they would do if they won?’

Luckily, a recent national survey of 1,000 Irish adults by leading lottery betting company Lottoland, asked this very question with all types of travel, starting a business, volunteering, losing weight and plastic surgery all top the wish list.

Perhaps even more interesting was the fact that buying a property, getting a tattoo, going to see the Spice Girls in luxury at Croke Park, climbing Mount Everest, travelling into Space or being able to retire, all came surprisingly low down at the bottom of the results.

We're not sure sure what to think but here they are in full:

If you won the EuroMillions jackpot in 2019, what would top your bucket list?

1. Travel around the world- 57%

2. Go on a luxury all expenses cruise - 32%

3. VIP trip for you and your best friends to the Rugby World Cup in Japan - 22%

4. Start your own business - 16%

5. Achieve your ideal weight/get plastic surgery - 15%

6. Do volunteer work in a third world country - 11%

7. Learn to dive or go snorkelling with turtles or swim with dolphins - 10%

8. Buy a property - 6%

9. Get a tattoo - 5%

10. The best hospitality box and 5 star accommodation for you and your friends to see the Spice Girls in Croke Park - 5%

11. Go into space - 5%

12. Climb Mount Everest - 4%

13. Pay off the mortgage - 1%

14. Buy a car - 1%

15. Retire/stop working - 1%

Interestingly, digging deeper into the results - obtained by Empathy Research - the younger millennial cohort of 18-24-year-olds featured very prominently throughout the survey.

They landed in the highest preference of all the age groups for travelling around the world (74%), for wanting to lose weight and get plastic surgery (both 24%), dreaming about swimming with the dolphins and getting that taboo tattoo (both 15%).

However, in fairness, they did show the most ambition by having the highest percentage of all the ages in wanting to start their own business stakes (23%).

The 65+ brigade had the highest percentage score for the ultimate pampering of a luxury cruise (48%), while 18-24-year-olds ranked that the lowest (17%).

In the battle of the sexes, the men (28%) by far outnumbered the ladies (16%) in wanting to go on a VIP trip with all their mates to the Rugby World Cup in Japan this Autumn.

On the reverse, when it came to weight loss or plastic surgery, women (22%) by far outnumbered their male counterparts (9%) but in an amazing turnaround, the lads actually outnumbered the girls for wanting to go and see the Spice Girls in Croke Park.