- Title: Madrid celebrates as the "Fat One" sings 2-6-5-9-0
- Date: 22nd December 2019
- Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (DECEMBER 22, 2019) (REUTERS) STAFF AT DONA MANOLITA LOTTERY SHOP WHICH SOLD SOME OF THE WINNING CHRISTMAS LOTTERY TICKETS CELEBRATING AND UNCORKING A BOTTLE OF CAVA / CAVA EXPLODING FROM BOTTLE LOTTERY SHOP STAFF MEMBER HOLDING A SIGN READING IN SPANISH "FIRST PRIZE: 26590" SIGN IN THE SHAPE OF AN ARROW READING IN SPANISH, "THE FAT ONE CHRISTMAS LOTTERY WAS WON HERE" / LOTTERY SHOP STAFF POSING FOR PHOTO / SIGN WITH WINNING NUMBER CAVA BOTTLE WITH LABEL READING "DONA MANOLITA" STAFF MEMBER SHAKING BOTTLE OF CAVA / CAVA COMING OUT OF BOTTLE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED STAFF MEMBER OF THE DONA MANOLITA LOTTERY SHOP SAYING: "I am very satisfied. We have worked all year to achieve this. This is our reward, to sell 'El Gordo'." AWNING ON EXTERIOR OF LOTTERY SHOP READING "DONA MANOLITA" / STAFF OUTSIDE SHOP
- Embargoed: 5th January 2020 09:39
- Keywords: Christmas lottery Dona Manolita El Gordo Madrid Spain
- Location: MADRID, SPAIN
- City: MADRID, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001BB24DON
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Staff at Madrid's legendary Dona Manolita lottery shop celebrated the sale of the winning "El Gordo" (The Fat One) lottery number on Sunday (December 22) after 26590 was revealed as the top prize of the annual Christmas lottery.
Across Spain, people come together to buy tickets for El Gordo, which translates as "The Fat One."
The complex rules of the draw - which allow for multiple purchases of the same lottery number - make it almost impossible to decipher how many people have won. In the months leading up to the draw, local bars, companies and associations share their numbers, hoping to celebrate the world's biggest windfall with their patrons.
Dating back more than two centuries, the Christmas lottery tradition is deeply rooted in Spain, so much so that in the middle of the Civil War (1936-1939), both the Republican and Nationalist side held their own Christmas lotteries in Barcelona and Burgos, respectively.
Dona Manolita has almost as much history as Spain's holiday lottery itself.
Located in central Madrid it has been selling the lottery for more than a 100 years and ranks among the country's most famous vendors. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, long lines snake around the shop as Spaniards vie for tickets from a vendor perceived as among the luckiest in the country.
The winning 26590 number was also sold in major cities like Seville, Barcelona and Alicante, among others.
(Production: Guillermo Martinez, Juilen Hennequin, Silvio Castellanos, Catherine Macdonald) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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