Record lottery winner from Madrid satellite town keeping low profile

A single winner will take home €137 million from the Euromillion lottery draw held last Friday, a new record following the more than €126 million won by an individual player in 2009.

But the lucky punter, who spent €42 on a multiple bet, has apparently gone missing.

With €137m all you think about is making yourself scarce, and keeping a low profile”

Ángel Hernández, owner of the lottery booth that sold the winning ticket in Madrid satellite town Parla, told Efe that he did not know who bought the lucky number. But, he said, “what’s certain is that they’ve gone. With an amount like that, it’s no wonder.”

“You can imagine,” he continues. “With €137 million all you think about is making yourself scarce, even moving elsewhere and keeping a low profile, because it could be a big temptation for a lot of people. It’s not like someone who wins a million, which solves all their financial concerns, but they still keep on doing their jobs. With €137 million, I seriously doubt that whoever it is will go back to their ordinary life.”

Globally, the record for a lottery draw was set on February 3, 2006, when three people — two from France and one from Portugal — shared a prize of more than €183 million.

Ángel Hernández said that he has been running his booth in Parla for 16 years, and that after “12 years of being high and dry,” the winning numbers have been steadily pouring in since 2010.