Reus wins big share of Spain's top Christmas lotto number, 72897

The city of Reus, in southern Catalonia, got lucky in Spain's 'El Gordo' Christmas lotto.

A lottery outlet in the municipality's Plaça de la Pastoreta square sold around 600 tickets – that is to say, 60 series – of the number 72897, among which €240 million will be shared.

Around 80% of these tickets were sold to workers and relatives of Indústries Teixidó, a company that makes automobile pieces. People with ties to the company won around €200 million.

Workers were happy to receive news of their win, especially given the two sets of temporary layoffs they have faced this year due to Covid-19.

Other prizes 

Another office in neighboring Tarragona sold one other ticket, meaning the lucky buyer won €400,000.

Southern Catalonia has been blessed with good fortune for a second year in a row as popular tourist destination Salou won some €360 million in hundreds of 'El Gordo' top number tickets, 26590 last December. Indeed, Reus was also lucky in 2019, with some tickets bought in Salou by a local Aragonese club.  

In the 2020 lotto, the second top number, 06095, also favored Catalonia. An outlet in Badalona sold 15 series of the number, with €18.7 million given in prizes, and another one in Palau-solità i Plegamans sold 10 more, with €12.5 million shared. Vallirana, Barcelona and Lleida sold around 10 tickets of 06095 each.

Other minor prizes also included 15 series of a third prize in a lottery outlet in Ripoll, near the Girona Pyrenees, with €7.5 million awarded. The same number, 52472, shared another €2 million in Sant Boi de Llobregat, Terrassa, Santa Margarida de Montbui, and Anglès.

Sales of the traditional lotto experienced a 7.66% drop in Catalonia this year, with an average of €44 spent per inhabitant totaling €340 million. This year, the amount in prizes will be similar to the money spent on tickets.

Catalan lotto

While Spain's Christmas lotto, with more than 200 years of history, remains by far the most popular in Catalonia, it is no longer the only occasion people have to try their luck this time of the year.

The Catalan 'La Grossa' lotto, held on New Year's Eve, was created in 2014 by Catalonia’s pro-independence government with the aim of using part of the funds to pay for social programs.

According to Catalan Lotteries, ‘La Grossa’ players have a 25% greater chance of winning a prize than those who play ‘El Gordo’.

However, as the tension over Catalonia’s push for independence has risen in recent years, settling on one of the two lotteries may no longer be a politically neutral decision.