The N15m tears of joy at Western Lotto

Friday, September 15, 2017, was a special day for Miss Dorcas Nwagbara, 27, from Abia State, Nigeria. On that day, the Microbiology graduate of Imo State University and entrepreneur who often visits Texas, USA, received a life-changing phone call.

She was shocked when the call from Western Lotto Nigeria Limited came to inform that she had won the N15m jackpot on Powerball on the Western Lotto platform.  

She paused while the caller kept saying hello, hello, hello. She then asked the caller to repeat the message. Confirmed, she drove with her cousin and friend to 13 Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island office of Western Lotto Nigeria Limited. 

She got confirmation. It was too much. She broke down in joyful tears.

Nwagbara said she played the games on the platform regularly from the official launch on July 10. She urged persons who want to win to do likewise.

Said Ms Nwagbara: “As you can imagine, I am super excited. Friday, September 15, was one of the most exciting days in my life so far. I woke up that morning, and I did not even know that my name was everywhere. My name was trending.

“I then got a call from Western Lotto. Apparently, they had been trying to reach me all of Thursday, September 14. I had won the jackpot on Wednesday, September 13.

“Initially I thought it was a call from one of the utility service providers and I was like “not again”. I picked up the call, and the next thing I heard was, “Congratulations! You won the N15million Powerball Jackpot.  I was like, ‘Can you say that again’? The caller confirmed.

“I do not know what to say but to thank God. I just want to thank God, and I also want to encourage whoever is playing Western Lotto games to keep playing. I played up to 11 lines the day I won. So, just keep playing. It would come.”

 She was in tears when she got to the Western Lotto office in Victoria Island and confirmed that she was indeed a winner of N15m.  

Ms Nwagbara encourages other gamers to keep at it. She stated, “I have been winning little amounts like N100 and such. But just keep playing. It would come. I started playing from the beginning when the company launched. I had seen the Powerball game in America. I played Powerball with $1 when I was in the US but never knew I could play in Nigeria too. I saw it on TV on the day of the launch, and I went online to register.”

She received a large dummy cheque of her winning at a ceremony on Wednesday, September 20.

Western Lotto managing director Mr Yomi Ogunfowora said the company was as excited as the winner. “The win by Dorcas confirms our claim that our customers can win every prize on offer across all our games and that we would honour such wins”, Ogunfowora stated. He added: “As we celebrate Ms Dorcas Nwagbara, we believe her winning cheque of N15m will invite Nigerians to join us in a world of fun and hope for a better lifestyle.”

Western Lotto Nigeria Limited offers seven international lottery games under license from the Nigerian Lottery Regulatory Commission. The games are Powerball, Euro Jackpot, LottoRace, Euro Millions, Mega Millions, Kashman and UK Lotto.

Ogunfowora said the company was committed to upgrading the lifestyles of customers. He added, “The terms of reference of Western Lotto is to bring fun and hope to the Nigerian public. Hope is one of the fundamentals of life and is particularly important in difficult periods such as the one Nigeria is passing through. We bring to the Nigerian consumer games that offer opportunities to change the narrative of their lives. Just one winning combination with minimal expenditure can modify the life story of a subscriber.”

Brand ambassadors of the company joined at the presentation. Present at the event were Olu Jacobs, Jide Kosoko, Kemi Afolabi, and Odunlade Adekola. Others were Paul Obazele, Tuface Idibia and Ramsey Noauh.