Galicia town scoops 120 million euros in El Niño lottery jackpot

The first prize in the El Niño lottery draw, held on Monday, was won in its entirety in the town of Monforte de Lemos, Galicia. Each winning ticket bearing the number 76254 is worth two million euros to its holder, with the tickets sold either whole, for 200 euros, or split into tenths (décimas) at 20 euros each, with a total a prize of 120 million euros. This year’s special prize delivered 40 million euros to the sole purchaser of décima number five, series 21.

“I wasn’t watching the draw but people started to call to say that they had won,” said Luis Maceda, owner of the Manhattan Bar in the town, who bought tickets that shared 15 million euros among his customers.

Second prize, worth 750,000 euros per ticket, was purchased in 20 different locations across Spain. In Zaragoza, a single lottery shop sold 12 series of tickets bearing the number 69362, worth 90 million euros in total. Shop worker Aroa García told reporters that as soon as the draw was made residents began to arrive and the champagne flowed, “but nobody said how much they’d won.”

Lottery shops in Barcelona, Jaén, La Rioja, Madrid and Tudela, in Navarre, shared out the third prize of 250,000 euros per winning ticket.

The El Niño lottery has a total prize pool of 560 million euros.