ITALY: Lottery hopefuls place their bets as jackpot rises to a record 105.3 million euros

Record ID: 572521

  • Title: ITALY: Lottery hopefuls place their bets as jackpot rises to a record 105.3 million euros
  • Date: 26th July 2009
  • Summary: ROME, ITALY (JULY 25, 2009) (REUTERS) WOMAN WITH HER GRANDCHILDREN OUTSIDE A TOBACCONIST SHOP
  • Embargoed: 10th August 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAACF2QYBD1HEMTIE7N0OXZ97QE
  • Story Text: SupereNalotto fever has hit the streets of Italy with hopeful punters queuing up to buy tickets in Saturday (July 25) night's lottery jackpot, which has not been won in six months and is now worth over 100 million euros to the lucky winner.
    Just in time for the mass exodus for the Italian summer holidays, lottery hopefuls were trying their luck on Saturday jamming shops and tobacconists to fill in their bets.
    "(If I won) I could not do anything, because I could not buy the youth anymore. I hope to win on behalf of my son. This would make the difference," said Giovanni Rizzoli inside a lottery shop in Rome.
    Some Italians expressed doubts about the life-changing effects of such a huge prize.
    "It would be a problem (if I won). I believe that the most important thing is not to change life, but try to keep the same habits. Then I would invest money in real estate or I would travel around the world for six months," Andrea Lima said after confessing to be an habitual player.
    Wagers increased massively over the past week and Italian news agency ANSA reported that people drove into Italy from neighbouring countries like France, Austria and Slovenia to buy tickets.
    The draw will take place at 18:00gmt on Saturday night.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
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