Somerton mum scoops £30k bingo prize (From South Wales Argus)

Mum from Somerton, Newport scoops £30k bingo prize

10:10am Wednesday 20th March 2013 in News

WHAT would you do with the money? is always the first question for any lucky jackpot- winner, and for Cheryl Knowles, from Newport, the answer was “share the nearly £30,000 with a mate”.

Mrs Knowles, 52, from Somerton, hit the jackpot at Castle Bingo, in Usk way, just over a fortnight ago.

The bingo-mad mum of two has been heading to the club with best pal Donna Peterson, who lives just two doors down from the Knowles’, for the last three years. On March 2 the pair went for their usual Saturday-night game and Mrs Knowles struck gold.

“It was about halfway through the night and we realised I’d got all 15 of my numbers, but it is all about who has got them in the least amount of calls.

“I had done it in 37 calls so I won the in-house prize of £210, but then you wait and see if you’ve got it in the lowest number of calls regionally, which I had, and then at about 8 o’clock I found out I had won the national prize of £25,000.

“My mate, Donna, was jumping all over me. She also won £3,900 from the regional prize fund.

“We had been playing on the one-armed bandits first and had used up all our money, even for a taxi back, so it was a good job we won,” she laughed.

Mrs Knowles, who works for Halo Foods in Spytty, split the winnings with her friend, who will now decorate her children’s bedrooms, while Mrs Knowles hopes to take her family on holiday to Portugal and has bought a three-piece suite.

Dan Collard, deputy manager at Uskway Castle Bingo, said: “We’ve won £65,000 in the club in the last fortnight.

“I’ve never known a lucky streak like it, so we had a good party for Cheryl on Monday evening.”