Spain's 'El Gordo' Christmas Lottery Awards Record $2.8 Billion in Prizes
Preview
Spain's "El Gordo" Christmas lottery, known as the world's largest lottery, distributed a record-breaking €2.7 billion ($2.8 billion) in prizes this year. The draw took place at the Teatro Real opera house in Madrid and is a significant event marking the start of the Christmas festivities in Spain.The top prize, known as "El Gordo," was a whopping €4 million for a full ticket. This year, the main prize was awarded 193 times, which is eight times more than last year. The winning number was 72480, and several ticket holders with this number won the top prize of €400,000 each. One of the major winners was a sports club near the Spanish capital, which had bought lots with this number and sold them to its members.The draw began at 9:17 am (0817 GMT), and the first of eight fifth prizes worth €60,000 each was drawn just 17 minutes after the draw began. The ceremony lasted around three hours, with many smaller prizes also awarded. The draw uses two lottery drums: one containing 100,000 wooden balls with the ticket numbers and the other with about 1,800 wooden balls with the prize amounts.The event was broadcast live and followed by a huge audience from the comfort of their homes or local cafes. The draw is a much-anticipated event, and the excitement was palpable as the winning numbers were announced by children from Madrid's San Ildefonso boarding school, who traditionally sing out the winning numbers and the prizes in pairs.This year's lottery sales revenue was €3.86 billion, with 70% of the total sales distributed as prizes. The lottery, established over 200 years ago, is considered the oldest in the world and continues to grow in popularity, with an increasing number of foreigners participating online.