‘El Niño’ fever grips Spain

AS the country recovers from the combined excitement, joy and disappointment of the world’s biggest lottery, El Gordo, Spaniards are preparing for the next big holiday season lottery in the hopes of hitting the jackpot.

El Niño lottery is held every January 6 and though not as big as the Christmas lottery that this year paid out nearly €3.5 billion in prize money, tickets are being snapped up as Spaniards pray that they’ll be the ones emulating the joyous scenes beamed around the world of El Gordo winners celebrating their massive payouts.

Given the amount of winners in the El Gordo lottery, thanks to its unique prize-giving structure, many people who win small to medium amounts will reinvest their winnings in the hope of winning El Niño. Tickets for El Niño cost the same as El Gordo tickets (€20), guaranteeing that the total prize money on offer will be up around the €500 million to €700 million mark (on average).

The lottery’s name refers to the baby Jesus and is held on the Three Kings’ Day each year, the traditional present-giving day in Spain.