El Gordo: Spain's Christmas lottery spreads $2.8B worth of holiday cheer

Spain’s 200-year-old holiday lottery "The Fat One" delivered a hefty prize again this year, with over $2.8 billion in prizes warbled out by school children and watched live around the world.

Spain’s 200-year-old holiday lottery "The Fat One" delivered a hefty prize again this year, with over $2.8 billion in prizes warbled out by school children and watched live around the world.

The annual drawing for "El Gordo" took place on Sunday at Teatro Real, the country's preeminent opera house in the capital Madrid.

Unlike many lotteries, there is no single jackpot, and the winnings are distributed among thousands of people in via a complex system. Across the country, families, colleagues and friends often participate by pooling their money together to buy tickets.

Employees celebrate that they have sold part one of the winning numbers in Valencia.Rober Solsona / Europa Press via Getty ImagesMultiple tickets with the same number can be sold, and shops usually only sell one or two numbers, meaning those who win the largest prizes often live in the same area.

El Gordo is held annually on Dec. 22, and is a key part of the Christmas season in Spain offering one of the largest lottery prize pools in the world. Organized by the Spanish government, it originated in 1812 during the Napoleonic Wars with the drawing watched live on national television and live-streamed globally.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/el-gordo-spain-christmas-lottery-billions-rcna184974

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