The El Nino lottery in Spain just handed out more than $1.1 billion.
According to the Associated Press , the El Nino lottery is held every year on the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. This year, the $1.1 billion lottery was handed out to winners in Alicante, Leon, Madrid, Murcia and Tenerife.
Unlike typical American lotteries , the purpose of El Nino is to distribute small portions of the winnings to hundreds of people. Fox 8 reports that tickets cost about $25 and the most anyone can win is $260,240 (€200,000).
The El Nino lottery gave a lot of people in Spain some extra cash but it also pumps some money into Spain’s economy since anyone who makes $3,250 will have to pay a 20% tax.
One winner in Alcorcon said:
“I am very excited because I really needed this … Now that I’ve won, I just think I’ve been very lucky.”
Surprisingly, El Nino isn’t Spain’s must lucrative lottery. The $1.1 billion lottery doesn’t even compare to El Gordo, which is held every year on December 22. El Gordo, or The Fat One, gave away $3.3 billion last year.
According to ElGordo.com , the El Nino lottery is an official lottery organized by the Spanish government. It has been played since 1763.