• My Account
• PartyPoints

In 2007 a Sunderland based landscape gardener, Brian Somers (aged 39) won a whopping $1092957.68 (£551,000) with a spin of only 18 cents or 9p.

As a self employed gardener Brian was going through a very difficult spell, earning only between £5,000 and £10,000 per year and times were tough. But now his life has been completely transformed and all thanks to a 9p bet. This was actually the first time ever that someone has won such a huge sum from such a small bet; it shows that it can be done!

Brian tells us what it was like to win:

“Well, I had put in around $100 (£50) the day before, but when I was online the screen started to flash and suddenly it told me to choose six smiley faces. I did and 4 of them were ‘golden dollars’. Then I looked at the top of the screen and the ticker started to race. Suddenly all these numbers appeared and then the next thing I know there is a message saying that I had won over a million dollars. I thought it was a joke, or even a virus. I turned the computer off; I switched it off at the plug. I genuinely had no idea what was going on, but my heart was racing and my pulse was incredibly fast.

So when I logged back on, I still couldn’t believe it when I saw that I had won over $1092957. I even called PartyCasino and they said ‘Oh yes sir, your balance is over $1 million.

I was still in shock a bit so I asked my friend Stevie to come round to my house, since he was working next door. He was just ecstatic for me and was even more delighted than I was; I think that was because I was so shocked. He didn’t go back to work that day, just left his painting and decorating and helped me absorb the enormity of what I had just won.

I think it is just such a fantastic sum of money to win. It means that I can now just chill out and relax about life and have a good time, with no worries. I just smile all the time now: I’m like the smiley little faces that brought me this good fortune. It’s fantastic.”

Brian is separated, but has one child and he is now determined that his little six year old son will get the best possible education with his winnings. Brian’s mother and his siblings all live in close proximity and Brian is also using his windfall to help them.

“I want to help them to be secure for life. I also want some things for me: I am going to buy a house, a nice car and then have a really luxurious holiday. I’m also going to buy some tools for my gardening business, like a de-luxe motorised mower. Before my jackpot win I had to turn down work because I didn’t have the right tools, but all that has changed now. Life is just fantastic.

I’ve told my mother that anything she wants she can have and I am going to completely re-do her garden and buy her some new patio furniture. I’d already done the front, but now I can afford to do the back as well.”

After his win Brian took a trip to London where he stayed in a very exclusive hotel in upmarket Kensington; this was a five star hotel which is favoured by celebrities. His brother Sean went with him and they had a great time, soaking up the ambience of living with the stars. They even think they saw Michael Jackson in the building opposite! Whilst he was been living this life of luxury, clients were ringing up Brian to ask him to do some work for them, but Brian was determined to holiday for as long as possible.

He is also a great supporter of his local football club, Sunderland FC and now he can afford a season ticket to the most expensive stand in their stadium.

All this from a 9p bet and for a man who had only ever won £40 on the National Lottery.

A spokesman for PartyCasino.com said, “We are just so pleased for Brian. We have seen some big winners before, but Brian has shown that you can win life changing amounts of money from the smallest of bets. So he really has broken records and it really is wonderful that he has been so lucky. He’s a really nice person and we wish him and all his family the very, very best for the future.”

PartyCasino.com is an increasingly popular member of PartyGaming PLC’s online gaming suite, which includes a whole variety of games for everyone, including PartyGammon.com, PartyPoker.com, PartyBingo.com, PartyBets.com, Gamebookers.com as well as EmpirePoker.com