Bored lottery winner in Britain drinks himself to death

LONDON - A Briton who became bored after he gave up his job following his nine-million pound lottery win has drank himself to death, a media report said Monday.

Keith Gough, 58, was thought to be penniless when he died in March after suffering a heart attack brought on by drinking and stress, Daily Mail reported on its website.

But Gough, father of two, had actually left nearly 800,000 pounds in his will, it emerged last week.

Gough of Bridgnorth, Shropshire, won the lottery in 2005. He bought top-of-the-range BMW, racehorses and an executive box at Aston Villa Football Club with the money.

He and his wife, who were married for 27 years, separated two years later after Gough quit his job and began drinking heavily out of “boredom”.

He moved to Cheshire where he rented a one-million pound home and hired a chauffeur and a gardener on annual salaries of 25,000 pounds and 15,000 pounds respectively.

But he blew a fortune on gambling and was duped out of more than 700,000 pounds by conman James Prince, who persuaded him to invest in bogus business schemes.

Gough claimed in an interview last year that his life had been “ruined” by his lottery win.

He said: “Without routine in my life I started to spend, spend, spend. In the end I was just bored.”

“Before the win, all I would drink was some wine with a meal. I used to be popular but I’ve driven away all my friends. I don’t trust anyone any more.”

“When I see someone going in to a newsagent, I advise them not to buy a lottery ticket.”