Exclusive: Spain Celebrates “El Niño” The Famed Lottery Draw On Kings Day And Euro Weekly News Speaks To One Of The Winners

THERE are some very happy Spaniards rejoicing right now, specifically those who bought the lottery ticket for “El Niño” (The Child) numbered: 57342, this year’s winning number.

The draw is one of the most popular lottery draws held in Spain. It is held every January 6, coinciding with the feast of the Three Kings, and usually takes place in the principal room of Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, in Madrid.

The first prize is called El Gordo (although less popular than the Christmas Draw) and is worth 2 million euros to the ticket (200,000 euros per tenth). The sales period for this draw runs from the beginning of November until the day before the draw.

This year’s winning number has been widely distributed throughout Spain with winners in: Quintanar de la Orden and Villa de Don Fabrique, both in Toledo; Mollet del Vallés, Vilanova del Camí y Pineda del Mar, in Barcelona; Albacete, Rianxo (La Coruña), Veguellina de Órbigo (León), Madrid, Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid), Lorca (Murcia), Tarancón (Cuenca), San Sebastián (Guipúzcoa) and Santander

The actual draw only lasts approximately 30 minutes. And although the Christmas draw is much more popular and delivers more millions, the maths indicates that there is actually more of a chance of winning El Niño than the popular Christmas lottery played on December 22. The chances of winning back the initial money invested is also three times higher.

Euro Weekly News has had the opportunity to speak with one of the winners, who wishes to remain anonymous, but has confessed that one of the first things she is going to do is take her grandchildren to Euro Disney.

“It’s been a tough year since their parents got divorced, I want to see them happy again, this won’t solve their problems, but hopefully it will help bring a smile.” She added. “I’m also going to donate some of the money to local animal shelter. I’ve seen some barbaric videos lately of animal cruelty in Spain. This has to be stopped. I also worry that there will be an influx of abandoned animals over the next few months. So any little bit goes a long way.” The lottery winner went on to state how the volunteers at the shelters do a “marvellous job” “We need to look after them.” she said.