A US winner gets $230 million and France gets first Euro millionaireLottery can be a mania [Archives:2004/714/Last Page]

Reuters & Yemen Times Staff
In a world where 70% of the population is below the poverty line, and in a country like Yemen where the number is even greater, it is teasing to know that a few days ago one person won $230 million in one lottery draw in the USA.
Another winner was in Europe, even though they won a much lesser amount of Euro 10 million.
Nevertheless, this is more than enough to have poor people around the world dream of being the winner just for the joy of the moment the jackpot number is announced.

USD 230 million in an instant
It is only a small slip of paper – but it is now worth an estimated $230 million. One Mega Millions ticket matched all six numbers in the Feb. 20 draw to win the estimated $230 million jackpot. That ticket was sold in Stephens City, Virginia, USA. The jackpot win comes after weeks of building excitement in the eleven US Mega Millions states. In addition to the jackpot winner, more than 2.7 million tickets won prizes in the February 20 draw. That includes 56 tickets that each won $175,000 and 209 tickets that each won $5,000. Even without the jackpot winner, Mega Millions players won nearly $23.8 million.
“We are delighted that this huge jackpot was won in Virginia,” says Virginia Lottery Executive Director Penelope W. Kyle, who is also President of the Mega Millions Consortium. “This is the largest jackpot ever won in Virginia and the third-largest Mega Millions jackpot ever. It is also the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won by a single ticket.”
The winning numbers in Friday's draw were: 01-13-20-21-30 and the Mega Ball number was 24.
The 56 tickets that each won $175,000 did so by matching the first five numbers and only missing the Mega Ball number. Those tickets were sold in Georgia (3), Illinois (5), Maryland (4), Michigan (3), New Jersey (8), New York (18), Ohio (7), Texas (6) and Virginia (2).
Mega Millions is played in Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Mega Millions draws are held on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 PM Eastern Time, 10:00 PM Central Time and 8:00 PM Pacific Time.

First European millionaire
Meanwhile a punter in France has claimed the Euro 10 million jackpot in Europe's first cross-border lottery, Sky television reports.
Britain's biggest winner claimed 112,551 pounds sterling in the draw on Friday, which involves Britain, France and Spain, said British National Lottery operator Camelot.
The winning numbers were 16, 29, 32, 36, and 41, and the winning Lucky Star numbers were 7 and 9.
Seven British ticket-holders won 8,155 pounds when they matched four main numbers and two Lucky Star numbers.
The draw is a joint venture between Camelot, France's La Francaise des Jeux and Spain's Loterias y Apuestas del Estado.
Tickets cost 1.50 pounds in Britain and two euros (1.35 pounds) in France and Spain. Players need to match five main numbers from one to 50 and two “Lucky Star” numbers from one to nine to win the jackpot.
Reuters and Yemen Times Staff
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