The festive season has made more lucky people millionaires today thanks to the 700€ million shared out in the 'El Niño' lottery draw - the second biggest lottery prize in Spain after 'El Gordo' drawn just before Christmas.
The winning number - 19570 - was sold in many different towns and cities, so this year the prize money is well distributed throughout the country. Every holder of a 'décimo' with the winning number will have hit a 200,000€ jackpot today. 19570 was sold in Parla (Madrid), Sangonera la Seca (Murcia), O Porriño Pontevedra), Mondariz (Pontevedra), Almazán (Soria), Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Eliana (Valencia), Torrent (Valencia), Picanya (Valencia), Xátiva(Valencia), Valencia capital, Santovenia (Zamora), Calatayud (Zaragoza), Madrid, Girona, Estepona (Málaga), Manises (Valencia), Bilbao, Málaga capital, Oviedo, Tomiño (Pontevedra), Puente Villarente (León), Chirivel (Almería), Castelldefels (Barcelona), Plasencia (Cáceres), Getafe (Madrid), Pobla de Farnals (Valencia), Alaquás (Valencia), Lluchmayor (Baleares), Barcelona capital, Sallent (Barcelona), Badalona (Barcelona), Burgos, Vejer de la Frontera (Cádiz), Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), Laredo (Cantabria), As Pontes de García Rodríguez (A Coruña), Lloret de Mar (Girona), Zafarraya (Granada), Loja (Granada), Granada capital, San Sebastián, Haro (La Rioja), Gáldar (Las Palmas), León capital, Burela (Lugo).
It is the first time that a first prize winner lives in the province of Cáceres - two décimos of this year's winning number were sold in the province. Not only that, but four décimos of the third prize were also sold in the Cáceres province - specifically in lmaraz, Coria y Torrejón el Rubio - dropping over half a million euros in prizes in Extremadura this year.
The online news websites are full of heartwarming stories relating to the many winners. The owners of Bar Feli in San Sebastián said they chose the winning number because is coincided with the date their parents opened the bar - May 1970. An excited Cristina Martínez, who confessed to not playing the lottery very often, said that her 86-year-old father was "very happy" that the date had brought them some good luck.
Celebrations in Manises where 1st & 2nd prize-winning tickets were sold
The staff of the lottery outlet in Manises that sold one series of the winning number and some décimos of the number that won the second prize were seen celebrating out in the street with bottles of cava today, although none of their winners had yet come forward. Rafa Sanchis, manager of the Manises outlet, said it had been "a very good year". They also sold tickets that won five major prizes in the Christmas lottery. "Manises is the lucky town" he added.
"This is the best way to start the year", proclaimed Tomás Sánchez, from lottery outlet number 2 in Alhaurín de la Torre in Málaga province, who sold a whole ticket (ten décimos) of the winning number 19570. It is the first year that the outlet, known as El Pirata de la Suerte (the Lucky Pirate) has been in operation, so Sánchez is over the moon with the way things have kicked off: "There couldn't have been a better way to do it," he said. "We are so happy!"
The second prize, worth 75,000€ per décimo, went to number 03436, and the third prize, worth 25,000€ per décimo, went to number 05587. The third prize tickets were sold in Alicante, Almería, Zaragoza, Madrid and Málaga.
One of the second prize winners, Laura Reinoso, a 41 year old from Cigales (Valladolid) maintains it was "karma" that brought her the second prize winnings. On New Year's Eve she found an envelope with 200€ inside and rather than keep it, handed it in so that it could be returned to its rightful owner. "I've been given that 200€ back many, many times over," she said, hardly able to contain her excitement. "I don't want to work until I'm 67 and then die," she went on, "I want to retire at 53 and with this money and the house on the market, I can now do it and live well," she added.
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