Watch moment Welsh barman discovers he’s won £3.5m Omaze mansion

Nation.Cymru staff

A Welsh barman’s life has been turned upside down after he won a £3.5 million house in Cornwall – along with £250,000 cash.

Darren Summers from the Rhondda, was pouring pints during a busy shift when the the team from Omaze walked in to the pub he works in to tell him he’d won a prize.

He was led to a local cricket pitch across the road where a video screen showed him he’d won the spectacular four-bedroom contemporary home set within an acre on the clifftops above Downderry Beach, complete with panoramic sea views, a heated outdoor swimming pool and a hot tub.

The luxurious property comes mortgage-free, with all stamp duty and legal fees covered. Darren has also got £250,000 in cash to help him settle in – and can choose to live in the house, rent it out for a supplementary income, or sell up whenever he wishes to become a cash multi-millionaire.

If Darren, 50, decides to keep the stunning property, it is estimated the £250,000 would enable him to run the house for many years. If he chooses to rent it out, local estate agents estimate that the property could achieve a long-term rental value of between £5,000 and £8,000 per month.

Darren, who bought his winning entry for £20 as part of his Omaze subscription, manages a pub in his hometown, while his wife of eight years, Rebecca, 36, works as a Healthcare Support Assistant at the NHS. The couple have lived in their current three-bedroom house for three years.

A stunned Darren said: “I was in the middle of pouring pints during a busy shift behind the bar when Omaze rang. I eventually picked up but when they said I’d won a prize I thought, yeah right, hung up and just carried on working.

“Then my colleague said there was a film crew outside, and that’s when I thought this might actually be real. Then the next thing I know I’m the owner of a £3.5 million house in Cornwall! To say I was shocked is an understatement, they’ll have to bleep my reaction as I couldn’t help but eff and jeff!

“I called my wife straightaway, but she didn’t believe me, she had no idea I’d even entered, so she was doubly surprised. She was on speaker phone and almost needed bleeping herself too, she was totally gobsmacked.”

Darren continued: “It wasn’t your average shift, that’s for sure, I sometimes get the odd half of beer bought for me, so a £3.5 million house is definitely my biggest tip ever! First thing I said was, if anyone wants a pint, the drinks are literally on the house tonight!”

He added: “I actually found out I’d won the house on the local cricket pitch, where our pub team plays. I thought them winning last week was a highlight, little did I know I’d be back a week later finding out I was a multi-millionaire. It definitely knocked me for six!”

On the stunning home itself, Darren said: “The house looks like somewhere a movie star would live, it’s absolutely breathtaking. We’ve always wanted to go to Cornwall but neither of us have ever been before. We thought maybe we’d come here camping one day, but now we’ll be staying in our very own mansion, it’s hard to get your head around it, it’s so crazy!”

He added: “We’re going to have an awesome summer down here. We love big get-togethers with all our family and friends, and this place is the ultimate house for hosting. We’ll be throwing BBQs by the pool all summer. We’ve got nieces and nephews so I think we’ll be the favourite auntie and uncle now thanks to this place!”

Darren joked: “We’re going to be so popular we might have to change our numbers!”

He continued: “I just came back from Turkey as I’m getting my teeth done, but Sod’s Law, the temporary teeth broke last week, otherwise I’d have an even bigger smile on my face right now. I’m meant to be going back next week to get them finished, but I could afford to get them done in the UK now!”

On what the win means, Darren said: “We’re a really close family, we’ve always worked hard and tried to get what we can out of life with what we have. But this win has changed everything, all the pressure and money worries have disappeared overnight.

“Myself and my brothers, us three boys, lost our mum and dad when we were young, so we only had each other growing up, so we’re very close. Rebecca has lost her father and family members in the last couple of years as well. It felt like we were getting nothing but bad news recently, but this life-changing win has come at just the right time for us and for our family.”

Looking ahead, Darren said: “Long term I don’t know what we’ll do yet, but we’re definitely going to enjoy this incredible place – and the views – for a bit. The £250,000 means if we wanted to, we could actually afford to stay here for years, it’s amazing to have that option. Whatever we decide to do, it will change our lives forever.”

He concluded: “Winning does mean I can call last orders on any money worries and retire early!”

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Darren’s new home has been designed to make the most of its clifftop setting, with floor-to-ceiling glass doors opening directly onto a coastal dining terrace and the heated swimming pool beyond, all framed by uninterrupted sea views.
Spanning 3,425 sq ft across two floors, the ground floor features an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area, a home office, a main bedroom with en suite and a second bedroom with shower room.

The lower ground floor offers a generous lounge and two further en suite bedrooms. Outside, the property sits within just over an acre of grounds with the heated swimming pool, a wood-lined barrel hot tub and a sculpture garden featuring ten original artworks. A driveway provides ample parking and an electric car charging point.

To date, Omaze has awarded over £200 million in total prize value to its customers in the UK, creating more than 50 millionaires through a combination of spectacular Grand Prize house wins and tax-free cash prizes including the Monthly Millionaire draw.

Draw entries for the latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw in Surrey are available now at omaze.co.uk. The Grand Prize Draw closes on Sunday 28th June 2026 for online entries and Tuesday June 30 for postal entries.