El Gordo : Total payouts this year reached Euro 2.52 billion


12/22/2011 : MASSIVE LOTTERY WIN CHANGES A SMALL SPANISH VILLAGE
 
El Gordo – The Fat One – pays out Euro 720 million to 1,800 residents of Granen
 
In a draw that has been eagerly anticipated for weeks, the world's largest lottery, El Gordo (the Fat One) in Spain paid out a main prize of Euro 720 million Thursday, with the tiny village of Granen (population 2,062) the winner, creating instant wealth of Euro 440,000 for each of the 1,800 residents who had bought in.
 
The draw of lucky ticket number 58268 triggered celebrations in the village as the news spread to the winners, each of whom had bought in at Euro 20. Total payouts this year reached Euro 2.52 billion.
 
The winning number was sung out by pupils of Madrid's Saint Ildefonso School, a former orphanage, in a nationally-televised draw that lasted for more than three hours.
 
The holders of the winning number all live in and around Granen, a tiny town in the northeastern province of Huesca.
 
The second award of Euro 1, 250,000 was split between the owners of ticket number 53404 giving each ticket bearer Euro 125,000. These were all sold in Manises in the southeastern province of Valencia.
 
Thousands of other lucky people walked away with smaller prizes in the lottery, which has become a popular tradition since it began in 1812.
 
Sales of tickets this year grossed Euro 2.681 billion, representing a small decrease of 0.49 percent compared to 2010.

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