Paddy's Pick 5 winner thought €25,000 email was a hoax!

A first-time Paddy's Pick 5 player has admitted he "couldn't believe his eyes" when receiving an email from Paddy Power to tell him he'd won €25,000 in last Saturday's competition.

John, a 27-year-old from Kilkenny, entered the competition after receiving a notification on his phone while watching the early Premier League football with his girlfriend's brother last Saturday.

He explained: "This was my first time, but I thought I ought to give it a go, given that it is free. To be honest, I’m not really a racing fan – soccer is more my sport. So I was just going through each race seeing if any names stood out to me and also looking at the odds of the horses.

"At about five past five on Monday, I got an email from Paddy Power telling me that I had won the game and won €25,000! At first I thought it was a wind up, like a hoax email, but then I checked my Paddy Power account and there was €25,000 sat in there. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was obviously delighted and went and told my girlfriend straight away.

"We have just moved into a new house, so the money will go towards renovating that. But I will also get myself a new car – I’ve already put my current one on the market!"

But having bagged the prize once, our winner has not decided to call it a day and rest on his laurels.

"I'll definitely be playing every week now – especially with my 100% strike rate to keep up!" he says. "I can't give you a tip for the races but I can give you a football one – 4-0 or 5-1 to Man City against Arsenal!"