Lucky man meets new girlfriend, falls in love - and she wins him Sh42 million

Thailand: A holidaymaker who fell head over heels for his new Thai girlfriend while travelling there was having the time of his life - but then things got a lot better.

The lucky Dubliner picked up his Sh42 million winnings (€350,000) today after scoring top prize in last weekend's Lotto Plus draw.

And he has his new love to thank after she picked his numbers for him - and also landed a €3 scratchcard on the golden ticket.

He told the Irish Mirror: "I'm a very lucky guy - and I owe it all to my girlfriend in Thailand."

The Artane man picked up his ticket in the Nevin Service Station on the Ballymun Road, Whitehall, Dublin 9 last Saturday.

It was a €20 ticket with 10 lines - eight of the 10 were chosen by his girlfriend in Thailand five weeks ago.

His girlfriend lives in the Nong Khai region of Thailand and sent him the numbers using the Line app on his iPhone.

The interior maintenance worker, who didn't want his identity published, arrived at the National Lottery HQ with his mum, sister and nephews to collect his new windfall - and made sure his girlfriend was in on the action through a video call on the same app she used to send the winning numbers.

He revealed the romantic story of how the pair got together just six months ago as he poured a glass of champagne for both himself and his girlfriend to clink - despite her being thousands of miles away.

He explained: "You could say it was love at first sight.

"We've been going out together for about six months.

"I met my girlfriend in Thailand.

"I was on holiday.

"She was working as a hairdresser then and I was standing on the back of a taxi in transit.

"I saw her standing outside the hairdressers, and our eyes locked.

"That was it, really.

"I asked her out and she's definitely my lucky charm.

"I wouldn't have won this prize without her.

"She sent me online the numbers for this win."

And the long-distance pair will now be able to see a lot more of each other as the winner plans to buy TWO houses - one here in Ireland and one in Thailand.

He continued: "The first thing I'm going to do is buy a house.

"In fact, I'm going to buy two houses – one here and one in Thailand.

"I really believe in the luck of the Irish, and coupled with my lucky girlfriend, this is definitely a day to remember.

"And it's her lucky day too.

"She just told me that she won €40 in the Stock lottery in Thailand today."