What is El Gordo?
Roughly translated as ‘the Christmas Fat One’, El Gordo Navidad first began in 1812 and has been an integral part of Spanish tradition ever since. As the balls drop, school children sing out the numbers in what can only be described as a droning, rhythmic tune, and the results are verified by Spanish lottery officials.
Tickets, or billetes, for the draw are priced at €200, meaning entries are often split between friends and family within Spanish communities. Given the expense of purchasing a single ticket, entries are divided into tenths, or a decimo, with winnings being divided between various players.
In this year’s draw there were a total of 17 prize tiers, including a jackpot prize which was shared amongst ticket holders, and 170 series of billetes. According to the game’s organisers, a total of €2.6 billion worth of tickets were sold in the run up to the draw, a figure that is 3.5 percent larger than last year.
What Happened in This Year’s El Gordo Draw?
This year’s draw started at 9:00am CET and lasted for an incredible three hours, in which time a whole host of prizes were won by ticket holders across the country. The grand prize of €4 million was won by ticket number 71198 and included winners from Las Palmas on Gran Canaria, Murcia and Valencia. The second prize was claimed by ticket number 51244, while 06914 secured the 3rd prize.
For more information on the draw, including the results and a complete prize breakdown, head to the El Gordo Results page.
El Gordo 2018
If you haven’t managed to claim a prize in this year’s draw, don’t worry, as El Gordo will return on Saturday 22nd December 2018. What’s more, you don’t even have to live in Spain to play the game as tickets are available to purchase online from anywhere in the world. For your chance to grab a huge prize, keep an eye out for ticket details being announced here in 2018. Good luck!
