76-year-old lottery winner not happy: “They should have put fate in a dark hole”

Money does not make you happy. Not everyone will agree with this saying, but Cees Stoll, a 76-year-old man who became a millionaire overnight last year, has not been happier with the extra millions in his bank account. Remarkable, because he seemed so content at the time, despite the harrowing situation.

Postcode champ falls in Heemskerk

Last year, the € 58.9 million Postcode champ fell in Heemskerk. The Postcode Lottery also knocks on the door of retired Cees Stoll. He could hardly believe that he had just won €2,804,761. “I slept badly,” he said. “It’s great what you get. If you have had a cooler year with a lot of worries, yes, it will hit you twice as hard.”

With these concerns, the lottery winner refers to the recent death of his life partner. Because she was not insured, he was saddled with the debts and all the consequences that entailed. “When I heard the amount I felt like I was about to collapse”. And that happened late too. After the broadcast, an ambulance even had to come, because he collapsed “on the spot”.

The prize came like a bolt from the blue, but so far he has mainly experienced the other side of the coin, as he outlines in a new interview with De Telegraaf. The lottery winner has not yet experienced any pleasure from the mega amount won. “The new kitchen of twenty thousand euros has yet to be installed, but whether I will enjoy it much remains to be seen. I’m tired of it here, want to move.”

“Everyone suddenly wants something from you”

Also the attention he suddenly feels strange. In his own words, people walk down the door and everyone seems to contact him again. “Everyone suddenly wants something from you. They are curious about how I am doing, or maybe hoping to get some money. The money makes everything a lot easier, of course, but it doesn’t make my life any happier. It feels empty, that’s it.”

He hoped to feel peace by winning the huge prize, but so far it has mainly resulted in emptiness and anger. “How I would have loved to enjoy it with her (his wife Jetty, ed.).”