Mystery over as missing local Winning Streak player identified

A well-known Athlone man has come forward as the missing Winning Streak player ahead of this week’s show. Unbeknownst to Oliver Flanagan, from Athlone, his name has been put on a ticket by his uncle who forgot to let his nephew know.  

It was the great Winning Streak mystery of Athlone this week as the National Lottery put a call out to the Athlone public on local radio to find the person who had been pulled out of the drum for the RTÉ One TV game show next Saturday.

A National Lottery spokesperson said: “The writing on the scratch card was not the easiest to decipher and there was no way of reading the phone number. The plot thickened when we checked to see where the scratch card was purchased, as local retailers would usually know their customers, when we discovered it was bought in a Topaz station in Sligo. The writing on the card, as read out by show presenters Marty Whelan and Sinead Kennedy, looked like DJ Flanagan but after we did some digging, we found out that it was OJ Flanagan.”

However the mystery didn’t end there after National Lottery officials made contact with Oliver, as Oliver denied that it was him as he didn’t send in a three-star Winning Streak scratch card.
The spokesperson continued: “Eventually when we asked if there was any possibility that a relation could have put his name on the ticket, Oliver’s dad Michael contacted his own brother, Sean who lives up in Sligo to see if it was him. Sean revealed that it was indeed him who sent in the card and has been doing it in his nephew’s name for the past two years. Mystery solved! “

Oliver is now looking forward to his Winning Streak appearance despite only being made aware of it on Tuesday. He works in Flancare, a warehousing company in Athlone, where he has been for more than 20 years. Now he is raring to go and says he’ll look after Uncle Sean with any Winning Streak winnings on Saturday. Oliver is also part time farmer, along with his father, as they breed Angus cattle in Athlone. That’s not all as Oliver also breeds poultry (chickens, turkeys and geese) and travels the country, selling this produce at agricultural festivals, as well as to locals in Westmeath. Having become aware of the Winning Streak search for a Flanagan from Moydrum, Athlone, the Westmeath Independent made contact with the Flanagan family to highlight the issue.

His parents Pat and Michael have been amused and surprised but the events over the past few days but are now looking forward to the show along with Oliver’s other sibling, Michelle. Michael has thanked the local community for their support and messages of congratulations. They will be joined by a number of family and friends from Athlone as well, of course, as Uncle Sean.

The enhanced National Lottery game show, co-presented by Ireland’s ‘Greatest Show Duo’ Marty Whelan and Sinead Kennedy, will feature some perennial favorite games as well but also brand new games including Play or Pay, Roll for Riches, WinFall and Electric Dream – where one player will win an electric car worth €25,000.

As ever one of the lucky five players will get the chance to spin the wheel and win up to €500,000.  But this series a €100,000 segment will be added to the iconic Grand Prize Wheel every show if less than that was won in the previous show, improving players chances to win a massive prize. Winning Streak will air on RTÉ One at 8:15pm on Saturday, September 22.