Several Christmas lottery prizes in Catalonia, but not 'El Gordo'

On December 22 some dreams came true in Catalonia. Spain’s Christmas lottery, celebrated in Madrid on Wednesday morning, is known for its famous ‘El Gordo’ — Spanish for the Fat One, or the Fat Man. 

Despite Catalonia not selling the first prize, it was one of the places to win big in this year’s lottery. In the territory,  the lottery left  €34,912,000, in Barcelona alone, 106 series of the number 70316 were sold. It was the second-fifth award, announced at 10:03 am, and it represents €60,000 each series, totaling €6,360,000.

In the seaside town of Calella, Pepe’s bar sold the 19517 number, awarded with the third prize. Only in that bar, Spain’s lottery left €15m. His owner, Tino, celebrated that luck was for those that despite "fighting on a daily basis" cannot get to the end of the month in proper conditions. 

Fortune reached other Catalan cities, as a lottery administration in Lliçà d’Amunt, north of Barcelona, sold 30 series of this fifth award. Or in Barberà del Vallès, nearby Barcelona, where they sold three series of another fifth award, 26711. The fourth of the eight fifth awards available, the 24198, was also sold in Catalonia. In this case in the Capital city and in Sort, in the Lleida province. 

One of the two fourth awards was also sold in several municipalities of Catalonia, in this case seven series. Each of the series gets €200,000 euros.

This year, it was time for the 86148 number to win ‘El Gordo’, sold mainly in Madrid, the Canary Islands’ Las Palmas, and in a town in the northern region of Cantabria as well as in the southern region of Huelva in Andalusia. The award is €4m for each series, or €400,000 per ticket.

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.