The $2 billion (yes, that’s billion) ‘Fat One’ lottery

People across Spain are tuning into radios and television to see if they are among the lucky ones to win a share of 2.2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in prize money in this year’s Christmas lottery, known as El Gordo (The Fat One).

The top prize for this year’s win is being capped at R6.5 million, with the remain part of the honeypot allowed for multiple draws and thousands of winners.

Individuals chip in and purchase shares of many or several tickets in Spain in one among the most famous Christmas customs among families, friends or workmates. Lottery officials say that can happen because of the way tickets, which are pre-printed, are allocated to sales points.

It comes just as the economy is recovering from the economic crisis and years of austerity, as well as a Spanish general election in Spain has left no political party with a clear majority.

A worker opens a trap-door in a giant drum to let the balls bearing ticket numbers fall into a lower compartment before the start of Spain’s Christmas lottery, in Madrid, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015.

Spain established its national lottery as a charity in 1763, during the reign of King Carlos III, but its objective gradually shifted toward filling state coffers.

Winners from across the country flocked to local lottery outlets to celebrate their good fortune in the traditional Christmas lottery draw, the world’s largest. It’s estimated that three quarters of the Spanish population but at least one ticket every year. Students then resold the tickets to raise money for a school trip, meaning the town was flush with winners. “And to top it off, they were distributed by the kids”.

“Your odds of being an El Gordo victor are about 1 in 100,000 per ticket”, one lottery website states, noting that between 80 and 98 percent of Spanish citizens play the lottery in some fashion.

“I feel a great joy, mainly because it’s so well spread out, especially among workers”, Jose Martin said.