the lottery that gives millions with tragic figures

There are those who play without looking at the number and those who insist on buying every year, but the clbadic way to play in Spain is to bet on dates symbolic. Anniversaries, weddings, births of children.

The Spanish lottery of Christmas (Lotería de Navidad), the largest in the world and whose first millionaire prize is called "El Gordo" (for the Spanish synonymous with chorudo), begins to sell a year and a half before the draw by lot, every December 22, and causes a rush to unlucky numbers. An example of this is 23518, alluding to the tragic explosion of fireworks that killed two people in a dwelling in Tui, Galicia, on May 23 of this year: exhausted in October, most of the series having been bought in Vigo. [19659005] Today, it will distribute a total of 2380 million euros of fixed value lots. The first will raise four million euros per series, 400,000 per tenth. An amount that attracts people of all nationalities. And the Portuguese, especially those living near the border, are no exception.

Portuguese customers

"This is the biggest lottery in the world and it was already much bigger." In 2008, before the crisis, there were 195 series of each issue, more than three billion euros in price. I will be sold in the summer, all tourists buy it, go everywhere. "The other day, I sent one to Switzerland and another to England," says JN Alejandro Pardo, proud lieutenant

The Galician, who has been working in the gambling business for 44 years, started as an employee. Today is the owner. He never had the chance to sell the first prize "El Gordo", but has already delivered "a million euros" many times in other games. "As early as Christmas, I only gave a 5th prize and that was last year, 60,000 euros distributed, and I also played against a Portuguese, who is a regular customer here, "remembers Alejandro. "It always seems that the Portuguese play with caution, but they do not have the tradition of the Spaniards."

Or even to have

Jorge Fernandes, pizza in Valencia, is the Portuguese who opposes Alejandro. Do not miss an opportunity to play. All the more so when millionaire prizes are at stake. This year, he bought four-tenths of the "Christmas Lottery". Jorge Fernandes with his tickets for the Spanish Christmas lottery

Photo: Rui Manuel Fonseca / Global Imagens

"I've always played and I've already left myself, little thing, 90, 100, 110 euros, low values, sometimes I buy six or seven and I distribute it by my staff here in the pizzeria, "he says. "I do not worry about choosing the numbers, I will come to tell you a joke, give me the lotteries that have a price, but as a rule, I played with my luck and played with my year from birth and with my wife, if you have, equal ". Because Jorge is not going in the Spanish belief.

exhaustion of tragedies

"Here, we think that tragedy attracts luck, that there is a misfortune, we look for figures related to this area or the date on which it occurred." And the truth is that it coincided. Alejandro explains: "The number that sells the most is the 13. It never leaves, but this year it was sold an hour after the start of the lottery sale." It's like the date of the year, "it will disappear soon too, 2018 will be exhausted too."

But luck is a chance and can fall in any number.In more than 200 years of existence of this extraordinary lottery (1812), recalls the newspaper "Voice of Galicia", only two numbers were repeated: the 15640 was drawn by lot in 1956 and 1978, and in 20297 in 1903 and 2006 …

[19459016ThemiracleofNgagne

In 2015, Ngagne was 35 years old, including seven in Spain, from the day the boat that brought him from Senegal reached a beach in Tenerife and he counted several jobs In 2015, he was unemployed and lived in Roquetas de Mar, Almeria, where many They got together to try their luck in El Gordo. "Not five euros a day," recalls Ngagne. But he had one-tenth of the 140 bills. Immane, a Moroccan, had another one. Ngagne, in official French of Senegal, means "to win". It amounted to 400,000 euros