The life of Mukhtar Mohidin, the UK's first major lottery winner, ended in tragedy despite winning a staggering £18million jackpot. Mukhtar, who was 42 at the time of his winnings, made headlines in November 1994 when he became the first National Lottery rollover winner . November 19 will see the National Lottery celebrate its 30th anniversary, since Mukhtar won the first draw three decades ago.
He had bought the ticket with £4 left over after paying £50 in rent, a stroke of luck that turned him into a household name. Mukhtar bought the ticket in Tesco , bagging the fortune for his wife and three children who lived in a terraced house in Blackburn, Lancashire. The money transformed his life, but ultimately led to his downfall.
Mukhtar arrived in the UK in the seventies, with his wife earning £100 a week in the local factory. The cash that bought the winning ticket was provided by his tenant, Ismail Lorgat, who handed him £50 to pay a £46 electricity bill in that fateful week in December 1994, and told him to spend the £4 change on the exciting new Lottery. Mukhtar had been renting out a workshop to Ismail at the time.
Ismail, who runs a Blackburn kitchen business, still recalls his words, as he urged his landlord to have a flutter: "I’ve been very lucky all my life. Don’t stop dreaming." The agreement was that the pair would split the money, which Mukhtar decided against once he received his fortune.
Ismail did take out a writ, served on the grounds they had a verb.