Monday evenings have long been a time of anticipation and excitement for lottery enthusiasts across the UK, Ireland, and the United States. This past weekend and Monday, September 29, 2025, proved no exception, with life-changing sums up for grabs in some of the world’s most popular lottery games—each offering not just a single windfall, but the promise of monthly payouts that could transform winners’ lives for years to come.
In the United Kingdom, the National Lottery’s Set For Life draw took center stage on Monday, September 29. As reported by The Sun and other outlets, the winning numbers—7, 12, 31, 34, 35, and the Life Ball 7—were eagerly awaited by players hoping to secure the top prize: an astonishing £10,000 every month for 30 years. That’s a cool £3.6 million over three decades—enough to start ticking off bucket list dreams, invest in a new business, or simply enjoy a life free from financial worry.
Set For Life is a relative newcomer among the UK’s lottery offerings, but its unique annuity-style payout has quickly made it a favorite. The draw takes place every Monday and Thursday at 8pm, drawing in hopefuls from across the country. The odds of winning that life-altering top prize? About one in 15.3 million, according to ChronicleLive. For those who come close but don’t quite hit the jackpot, there’s a second prize of £10,000 a month for a year—a still-impressive £120,000. Lesser prizes, ranging from £5 to £250, are also up for grabs depending on how many numbers are matched.
While the Set For Life format is relatively new, the UK National Lottery itself has a storied history. The very first draw was held on November 19, 1994, with seven lucky winners splitting a jackpot of £5,874,778. Over the years, the lottery has produced some truly staggering wins. The largest single-ticket haul remains the £42 million scooped up in 1996, and more recently, Gareth Bull, a builder, won £41 million in 2020—prompting him to demolish his bungalow and build a luxury manor house. The odds of winning any major UK lottery prize remain steep, with The Sun noting that for the main lottery, it’s about one in 14 million. Yet as the saying goes, you’ve got to be in it to win it.
Across the Irish Sea, a similar sense of euphoria swept through County Kerry after Friday’s EuroDreams draw. As reported by The Sun (Ireland) and other Irish outlets, a lucky online ticket holder matched six numbers—9, 10, 25, 33, 35, 40—and the Dream number 2, securing the Tier 2 prize: €2,000 per month for five years. That’s €120,000 in total, delivered in monthly tax-free installments that promise both peace of mind and a touch of luxury.
EuroDreams, launched in Ireland in 2023, has quickly gained traction thanks to its unique annuity-style prize structure. The top Tier 1 prize, won just once in Ireland earlier this month in Wicklow, is even more eye-watering: €20,000 every month for 30 years, totaling €7.2 million. As Emma Monaghan, spokesperson for the National Lottery, put it, “It was a magical Monday for one of our EuroDreams players in the Kingdom! What a way to start the week, with a prize that brings both financial peace of mind and a touch of luxury for the next five years. We’re absolutely delighted for our winner and look forward to welcoming them to the Winners Room very soon.”
EuroDreams is played in eight countries—Ireland, Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland—with draws each Monday and Thursday. Since its Irish launch, there have been nine Tier 2 winners: four in Dublin, one in Cork, one in Wicklow, and now two in Kerry. The National Lottery promptly notified the Kerry winner by email and advised them to contact the prize claims team to arrange collection at Lottery Headquarters.
For some, the steady stream of monthly payments is more attractive than a single lump sum. As a Cork winner from July 2024 told The Sun (Ireland), “I’m delighted it’s a modest bit going into my bank account each month, because now I’ll be sensible with the win and won’t be buying silly things. However, I am going to fulfil my lifelong dream and rent a red convertible and cruise the Wild Atlantic Way.” It’s a sentiment echoed by many—an ongoing prize may encourage thoughtful spending and allow winners to savor their good fortune over time.
Meanwhile, in the United States, Saturday, September 27, brought its own drama. A Powerball ticket sold at Bob’s Pit Stop in Hendersonville, North Carolina, matched four numbers, the Power Play, and the Powerball, winning $100,000—just shy of the $148 million jackpot, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery. The winning numbers were 10, 16, 32, 61, 66, and the Powerball was 4, with a 2x multiplier in play. While the jackpot wasn’t claimed, nearly 580,000 other Powerball tickets nationwide won prizes ranging from $4 to $100,000.
Powerball is a fixture in American lottery culture, with drawings held every Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday at 10:59 p.m. ET and played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of hitting the jackpot? A daunting one in 292,201,338. Still, the allure of multimillion-dollar prizes keeps millions of Americans coming back week after week. The jackpot rolled over once again and climbed to an estimated $160 million for the next drawing on Monday, September 29.
Across all these games, the stories of winners—whether they’re enjoying modest monthly boosts or headline-grabbing fortunes—capture the public’s imagination. From the UK’s Set For Life and Ireland’s EuroDreams to America’s Powerball, the appeal lies not just in the sums involved, but in the tantalizing possibility that anyone, anywhere, could wake up to a new reality. As one Irish winner’s story reminds us, sometimes even a rainy day can turn into a stroke of luck.
For all the astronomical odds and the fleeting nature of luck, these lotteries continue to offer hope, excitement, and, for a fortunate few, the thrill of dreams realized—month after month, year after year.
