Paddy Kehoe is still recognised on the streets as the man who changed the way Ireland’s lottery system is run.
In 1992, the now 78-year-old formed a group with mathematician Stefan Klincewicz to win the £1 million euro jackpot.
But this jackpot, which saw a fellow Irish citizen claim £208 million, he forgot to buy one.
Sitting across from me in an upscale Dublin hotel, Paddy said: ‘I don’t do the Irish lotto anymore, it’s not as exciting anymore.’
The year Paddy won, there were only 36 numbers in the draw, making it possible to buy every single combination and make a decent profit after.
It was a flaw in the system, but it a flaw ready to be exploited by anyone who was brave enough to do it first.
But Paddy, who is well-known in the world of horse-racing, is still bitter about how the plan unfolded.
He explained to Metro: ‘We came to the conclusion that we can cover every possible combination for less than one million euros, but we didn’t get what was owed to us.’
Unsurprisingly the group won the jackpot, but it was announced the jackpot would be shared with two others who had also bought a winning ticket, reducing the syndicate’s share to £568,682.
In the end, Paddy’s profit sat at a modest £40,000 which he said ‘is nothing in the world of gambling’.
‘Just get it into you account as quick as you can’
He said: ‘That wouldn’t even get you a deposit on a house these days. I still have my suspicions that there was not a third winner.’
Paddy lost most of his lottery winnings in the 2008 financial crash, and continues to lose money ‘every time Trump opens his mouth’.
And if he won the full jackpot today? It would go back into investments and gambling.
Scowling, he said: ‘If I were to win that money, I would try and get my stock values back up to where they were, but Trump is the worst person to have ever been born. He just makes my shares plummet.’
Paddy is now urging the winner of this week’s £208 million to claim the money as soon as they possibly can.
‘I nearly took the National Lottery to court after they wouldn’t hand over the money quick enough,’ he said.
‘They need to get on it and get it in their accounts. You never know what’s going to happen, your house could burn down tomorrow so they need to sort it.’
Although Kehoe’s plan didn’t play out the way he wanted to, it changed the way to lottery was ran after he eventually collected his money.
In the fall out the numbers in the draw were quickly raised and today sits at 47.
No one can possible replicate his scheme now after the jackpot was capped at 19 millions euros as well, but a film called Beat the Lotto is being released on the group’s plan.
He said: ‘My young nieces and nephews ask me about my Lotto winnings, and I still get people recognise me.
Since his lotto wins and his financial highs and lows, Paddy still works in his suspended ceilings business which he started up 50 years ago.
‘I should have given up a long time ago,’ he said. ‘But it’s good to keep busy.’
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