A remote Spanish farming village with 25 inhabitants was on Friday several million euros richer after everybody in the village won a share of the top prize in the world’s biggest lottery, El Gordo.
The church bells rang in Rebollo de Duero, in the central province of Soria, on Friday morning as the handful of farming families celebrated their good fortune.
Soria is one of Western Europe’s most sparsely inhabited regions, with many villages abandoned by their inhabitants over the past half-century.
“I don’t know what everybody is going to do with it,” said the mayor, José MarÃa GarcÃa, who added he was several hundred thousand euros richer after the draw. “We’ll try not to start arguing.”
With the top prize divided among the thousands of people who buy shares in the winning number, Friday’s El Gordo win was being celebrated in half a dozen places around the country.
It was the biggest payout to date by the Christmas lottery that is almost two centuries old. On Friday it gave out more than â,¬2,1-billion (about R19,4-billion) across Spain, divided into more than two million prizes.
Unlike other lotteries, El Gordo creates few millionaires, as most people rarely hold more than a â,¬20 (R185) share in the winning number. That number pays out 15 000 times the money spent on shares in it, meaning that most of those holding the winning number will have won â,¬300 000 (R2,7-million) for a â,¬20 share.
The â,¬1 200 (about R11 000) share in the winning number bought by villagers and visitors to Rebollo de Duero will return â,¬18-million (R166,3-million) in prize money.
All the shares in a winning number are usually sold in one town, but shares in this year’s winning number have been sold in other parts of Spain. Some of the prize money went to the resort of Benidorm, where lottery officials said British tourists could be among the winners.
“A lot of tourists buy in here,” said Severiano Balaguer, the vendor who sold the winning number in Benidorm.
An estimated three out of four Spaniards buy tickets for El Gordo. The draw, televised live over several hours, is an essential part of the Spanish Christmas, marking the start of the festive season. Children from a Madrid school sing out the numbers as balls are plucked from a huge cage.
Excitement builds up for weeks before the draw as workers and relatives pitch in to buy tickets together, while clubs, shops and bars sell shares in their tickets to clients. Tickets are also sold on the internet, attracting punters from around the world.
Xavier Gabriel, a lottery vendor from a town in the north-east called Sort, which means “luck” in Catalan, has turned his business into Spain’s largest internet store. He sells â,¬75-million-worth of tickets over the internet each year.
Spaniards are among the biggest gamblers in Europe. “I think that Spaniards, like everyone else, need to dream,” said Gabriel.
The El Gordo Christmas lottery was first drawn in 1812. Only Spaniards in areas not occupied by Napoleon’s army were able to play for the prize of 8 000 pesos.
El Gordo is run by the state, which hands out â,¬2,1-billion in prizes but keeps â,¬660-million profit. That money goes to the exchequer.
Spaniards spend an average of almost â,¬70 each on numbers. Shares in 66 000 separate numbers are put on sale months in advance and each number has at least 1 800 shares that cost â,¬20 or less. Winners receive 150 000 times the value of their share in the winning number. — Guardian Unlimited Â