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Italy's massive lottery jackpot of nearly 147m euros is won

Society Materials 23 August 2009 03:58 (UTC +04:00)
A winner has been found in Italy's massive state lottery draw - described as Europe biggest-ever jackpot.
Italy's massive lottery jackpot of nearly 147m euros is won

A winner has been found in Italy's massive state lottery draw - described as Europe biggest-ever jackpot, BBC reported.

The winning Suprenalotto ticket - worth 146.9m euros (£128.3m; $211.8m) - was bought in Massa Carrara, a Tuscan village with a population of 2,000.

There had been no winner since January, leading to mounting lottery fever, with people from around Europe travelling to Italy to buy tickets.

Since the start of the year, punters had spent well over $2bn on tickets.

Saturday's draw was 10, 11, 27, 45, 79, 88. A jackpot-winning combination had not emerged for 87 consecutive draws.

The BBC's Mark Duff in Italy says the economic crisis has added to the lottery's attraction, as many workers face grim prospects on their return home from the summer holiday.

Italy's state news agency Ansa said the unnamed winner had spent just two euros on the ticket, which was purchased in a bar.

Our correspondents says there is one other winner - the Italian treasury has kept about half the money gambled on the national lottery.

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