Residents of Spain’s seaside town of Roquetas de Mar started celebrating Tuesday when it was realised that many residents were in luck from the country’s massive lottery.
El Gordo, “the fat one”, is an annual draw held at Christmas time. Millions of people around the land pool together with friends, family and work mates to buy tickets.
This year, Spaniards spent nearly €2.6bn on El Gordo tickets while El Gordo in return offers cash prizes of €2bn each year.
In Roquetas de Mar, the winning number had been sold there and it appeared on 1,600 tickets. Each holder won €400,000.
In total the ticket holders in the southern town will receive €640m from the cash pot of the world’s largest lottery.
While the town in Almeria was the luckiest place in Spain for the draw this year, it was reported that the winning tickets were widely sold, creating winners in other parts of the country as well.
One of the winners was a man from Senegal who in 2007 had landed in Spain on a small boat with 75 aboard.
“I want to give thanks to Spaniards and the Spanish government for rescuing me when I was in the sea,” said the man, holding back tears as he spoke to Spanish media. He didn’t give his name.
The unemployment rate in the province of Almeria stands at 31% whereas the national average rate is 21%. A sudden influx of cash will no doubt be of great help to many struggling people in the province.
