It had taken more than a year for the jackpot to reach its final astonishing figure, going past the previous all-time high for SuperEnalotto and even becoming the largest prize ever to be put up for grabs in Europe.
The historic moment came in the draw on Tuesday 16th August when a single entry matched the numbers 7, 32, 41, 59, 75 and 76. It was revealed that the ticket was a Quick Pick costing just €2, making it likely that it belonged to a single player rather than a syndicate, as groups generally enter multiple lines.
The winner has 90 days to claim their prize and they have yet to come forward, but that has not quelled the excitement in the town of Lodi in Lombardy where the ticket was bought. The centre of the celebrations has been the Bar Marino in Via Cavour 46, with the owner’s family noticing a spectacular upturn in business as now everyone wants to purchase an entry from the same place as the winner.
‘Extremely Excited’
Among the throng of people to have visited the Bar Marino have been local tenor Antonio Locatelli, who sang ‘Nessun Dorma’ to the crowd to celebrate the big win. Another customer who won €120,000 in 2012 also made an appearance, while partygoers regularly toasted the winner.
Sara Poggi, the owner’s daughter, said: “From this morning we have been full and the people of Lodi are playing more. We are extremely excited, especially because the winnings are not for a system, but for one person who must have asked for a €2 ticket. This means that it is almost certainly someone who is not an expert in the game and therefore did not expect to win.” Poggi added that she hopes the winner shares their money with their loved ones.
The SuperEnalotto record had previously been €177 million and was claimed by a syndicate of 70 players from across Italy, who bought their ticket in Milan. That happened back in October 2010 and remained the highest of all time until June.
The jackpot was also the largest available lottery prize anywhere in the world before it was won, higher than either of the multi-state US games Powerball or Mega Millions. The top prize for the next draw is still €50 million, even though it has just been won, as a small percentage is kept in reserve for the next jackpot every time it is not won. Take part in the next draw by playing online or going to an authorised retailer in Italy.
