A jobless father-of-eight scooped nearly £4 MILLION on an online slot machine – but can still claim benefits.
Thomas Roche, 30, spent £58 on Bet365’s £2-a-go Reel King Slot during his first ever go on the website.
The former traveller couldn’t believe it when he hit the jackpot – and pocketed £3.75million on 10 October.
Thomas and wife Shelley, 30, phoned HMRC to declare the tax-free cash, assuming it would stop them from receiving all their £3,000-a-month benefits.
But while it saw their housing benefit and income support stopped – they still get other benefits, they claim.
The pair were astonished to discover they will still get child benefit, child tax credits and disability living allowance for some of their children, they said.
They have already splurged some of their winnings on a six-bed pad in Kent with stables and acres of land, and are preparing to leave their three-bed council house next week.
Thomas, from Eltham, has also bought FIVE cars – some for family – and a quad bike to drive at his new home, he said.
The dad, who refused to say how much he was getting in benefits now, said: “I spent £60 online on Bet365 and won just under four million.
“We were new to the slots. It was about 1:30am in the morning we got on there, obviously we had kids to sort and stuff. Next minute you know, we’ve become millionaires.
“I think we woke the whole neighbourhood. It was unreal – you don’t expect to win that, just under four million quid.
“It means a lot, yeah. I’ve got eight kids, we still get to keep our benefits – other than income support.
“I’ve barred myself from going back on Bet365 already – I’d rather go and spend my money.
“I called my bank to check whether the money had gone in, and while I was talking to them the money started flowing in.
“In the space of five minutes while I was in the bank, all the money was there.
“We’ve never had a new car – we’ve always had a Beetle. I only do the school run with it, shopping and take it once a year to a VW festival.
“But since winning, I’ve gone out and bought a van and cars for me and my brother, one for my sister. I’ve bought five cars.
“I bought a house, bought myself a Raptor – a road legal quad bike. I’ve got nowhere to store it, so that’s in the back of the van!
“We’re going to de-clutter this house and give it back to the council. Then I’m going to invest money into buying houses and renting them back to the council, and then just look for any investments to bring money in.
“It came in as a bonus. At first it said we were only going to get £16, and then I went to the toilet and came back and it was rolling in slowly as the jackpot – it said ‘Jackpot King’.
“We had never won anything on it before. It happened in October, and within two weeks we’d bought our house. We’re going to sign paperwork for it tomorrow.”
Thomas, who has five girls and three boys, said one of his children has ADHD, one has autism and another has hyperactivity disorder.
“This is obviously big news, someone on benefits – from Eltham – to be a multimillionaire,” he said.
“What’s next for us? To move into our house, declutter this house and buy other houses.”
Shelley, who grew up in Woolwich, said: “It’s tax-free money. We rang HMRC, we rang all the benefit offices. The only thing which did stop is income support.
“Obviously it’s child benefit and child tax credit, so it’s for the kids. So we told them the percentage we get from the bank, and we still get that.
“I tried to stop it, but they said it’s for your children. They said you don’t have to stop child tax credit because it’s for the children.
“It’s not an income for me and Dad – income support is for me and him. Child tax credit and benefit is for the children.
“My housing benefit has stopped. We’re doing everything right and above board.”
Thomas, a former traveller, added: “After the money was in my account I came home and phoned HMRC, because I didn’t want to spend the money in case I got in trouble for it.
“Obviously being on benefits and having this sort of money, we thought we would get in trouble.
“We rung them up and they said we didn’t have to worry about anything because it’s tax-free cash.
“The only thing we’ll lose is the income support, but we still get to keep childcare stuff.
“Monthly I would say we were taking in just under £3,000-a-month, what with having kids with special needs.
“We still get the kids’ disability allowances. I think we get higher-rate care, but low-rate mobility, and that’s for all three of them.”
The couple had their first child when they were both 17, and their youngest is just seven-months-old.
Three of their kids are disabled so they said they were told by HMRC they can keep their kids’ disability benefits.
Their eldest son, aged 12, has ADHD, their ten-year-old daughter is autistic and their eight-year-old son has hyperactive disorder, they said.
It was Thomas’ first time betting on the gambling site’s online slot machine, and he’s already locked himself out from playing again so that he doesn’t lose his winnings.
Despite alerting staff at HMRC about their win – which saw their housing benefit and income support stopped – the couple have continued claiming their weekly child benefit, child tax credits and disability allowance.
The couple live in a small terraced council house in southeast London with all eight of their kids, but they are soon moving to Kent.
Shelley said: “We bought a house near Dover. It’s nice, yeah. It’s a six-bedroom bungalow – with a one bedroom granny attic.
“It’s got a horse stables. It’s got four acres of London. It’s got a horse-riding pit.
“It’s close to the sea, and I’ve always wanted to live close to the sea. It’s a dream come true.
“We’ve got eight kids – three with special needs. I was 17 when I had my first kid.
“Of course they’re gonna move down with us. Some of them don’t really understand what’s happened. It’s a shock – but a good shock.
“This is obviously big news, someone on benefits – from Eltham – to be a multimillionaire.”