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Why this man returned to work at McDonald's despite winning the lottery

A lotto millionaire has gone back to his old job at McDonald’s – because he’s bored.

Luke Pittard, 23, who is nicknamed McMillion by his workmates, won $2,411,310 and hasn’t cashed his pay cheque since his return to the fast food chain.

The lucky winner from Cardiff, Wales said: “It’s not for the money. Earning $10.30 an hour doesn’t bother me. But I needed to start doing things”.

“You can only go shopping a certain number of times before you start seeing the same things. It was getting boring and repetitive and I put on a stone in weight. I was eating constantly.

“I enjoy going to work. It’s better than staying at home all day.

Lottery millionaire Luke Pittard has returned to work at Macdonald’s in Cardiff. Source: Australscope
Lottery millionaire Luke Pittard has returned to work at Macdonald’s in Cardiff. Source: Australscope

“All my mates work here. People don’t tell me what to do and when it’s busy I don’t get stressed any more. It’s like I’ve never been away.”

Luke added: “I carried on working for six weeks after winning the lottery but it was impossible because the customers wanted to know why I was still here.

“One of the girls used to ask everyone: ‘Do you know who you’re being served by? He earns more than this McDonald’s’.

“It was a laugh but I had to take a break. Since I came back, I’ve had a different job, taking deliveries.

“Now I’m back serving customers. You soon fall back into it – sad, isn’t it!”

Luke, who has a three-year-old daughter Chloe with wife Emma, went on: “I used to walk to work all the time but now I get a taxi there and back”.

Before striking it rich on the lottery, Luke and Emma, who worked at the same McDonald’s branch, were so hard up they couldn’t live together.

With Emma earning $23,000 a year and Luke bringing in $19,000, they could not afford the $1400-a-month rent on their home.

Luke Pittard, 23, won over $2 million on the national lottery with partner Emma Cox, 28. Source: Australscope
Luke Pittard, 23, won over $2 million on the national lottery with partner Emma Cox, 28. Source: Australscope

So Emma took Chloe to live with her parents while Luke moved back home with his mum. The couple only spent weekends together.

After the win, they splashed out $52,000 on their wedding at Cardiff’s Hilton Hotel, paying for 20 guests to wear cream suits at the ceremony.

Now they are enjoying life together as a family in a $404,000 modern four-bedroom home in the city.

Luke said: “The most important thing about winning the lottery for us was being able to live together. That was massive.

“But we do spend a little more these days.

“There’s a 52-inch flat-screen TV in the sitting room and a 46-inch TV in my computer room with my PlayStation3.

“Chloe has got everything from a trampoline to a bunk bed with a slide down to the ground.

“But the first thing we did was give our parents some money.

“My nan lives in a house she bought years ago for $15,000 and she still has a $3500 mortgage which I wanted to pay off.

“My cousin Joe Ledley plays for Cardiff City and I bought a $4400 Rolex watch to wear to his 21st birthday party.

“I wore some Hugo Boss trousers and a $350 Lyle and Scott jumper, which shrunk in the wash after the party. It’s so small I’ve thrown it away.”

Neither Luke nor Emma can drive – but he has been taking lessons.

He said: “It’s not going well. I have had six or seven lessons but I stopped when I nearly crashed into a bendy bus. The driver slammed on his brakes and honked his horn and halted a foot away from me.

“It was horrific but the instructor insists it wasn’t my fault and I just need to be confident.

“Emma wants me to buy a Ford Cougar but I’d like an Audi TT, so I’ll have to get one of each.

Luke added: “If we are sensible we need never work again.”

And despite his new-found desire to return to the “firm”, he added: “I don’t intend to work at McDonald’s for ever.”

Crunching the numbers:

  • 29,270: Days Kevin would have to work to earn his lottery fortune (eight-hour days).

  • 113: Years he would have to work to earn the cash (5-day weeks).

  • 4503: number of McDonald’s staff Kevin could employ for a week before his money ran out.

  • 416,367: Big Mac meals he could buy with his windfall.

  • 85,615: Number of $28 taxi rides he could take to work.

  • 4: Months he could have employed McDonald’s Chief Executive Jim Skinner – $6.7 million a year salary last year.