A lotto winner who scooped a GBP 8.46 million jackpot has told how he now blows hundreds of Euros a week trying to recreate his amazing win.
Reformed fraudster Kursat Yildirim – also known as Chico – became an overnight sensation after his German EUR 9.9 million win last year.
Now the former crane operator – from Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia State – has admitted he still spends EUR 500 (GBP 430) on lottery tickets each week.
Chico, 42, told local media how he keeps all tickets and receipts safe in a black Gucci manbag worth EUR 1,000 (GBP 855).
He told Bild newspaper how he keeps them with a pack of powerful indigestion tablets, a hangover from his 20 years of drug taking.
Chico said: “I would not eat anything for four or five days. I was just guzzling schnapps and taking drugs.
“Thank God I’m not suffering from any other serious conditions today because of my way of life back then.
“People should take care of themselves. You are what you eat!”
Ever since hitting the jackpot in September 2022, the ex-convict – who still lives with his mum – has been on a non-stop spending spree.
Experts estimate he has blown at least half his fortune with luxury properties, businesses and a fleet of luxury motors like Ferraris and Porsches.
He even bought his brother Yunus received a Ferrari GTB 296 worth EUR 500,000 (GBP 428,000).
Chico – who has more than 881,000 Instagram followers – recently revealed property prices in Germany were too high even for him.
He said: “I am happy living with my parents. They are here only for half the year anyway, as they spend the other half living in Turkey.
“But the bottom line is that with the price of houses in Dortmund, it’s just not worth it to buy.”
Chico – who came to Germany at the age of 12 – reportedly purchased a 20-hectare plantation containing 6,000 almond trees in his native Turkey.
The former jailbird is also believed to eyeing a yacht to add to his top-of-the-range cars.
In one of his latest ventures, he reportedly started a crowdfunding campaign called ‘Chico, I wish’ after one fan asked him to fund penis enlargement surgery.
Chico reportedly won the lottery two more times following his jackpot win in September of last year.
Six weeks on, he bagged EUR 1,700 (GBP 1,450). Half a year later, he won EUR 2,700 (GBP 2,300) which he gave away to family and friends.
