Celebrations in Logroño After Chaotic El Gordo de Navidad Draw

Sunday’s  El Gordo de Navidad draw was one that will be remembered for many reasons. It was a special occasion for players who bought tickets in Logroño as that’s where the winning number was sold.

The fake gordo

An unforgettable El Gordo de Navidad draw first saw one of the children singing the numbers announce 43226 as the winner of the first prize. Players in Toledo would have been celebrating but then the winning number was announced to actually be 72480.

43226 will forever be known as the ‘fake gordo.’ Organisers explained that the girl was nervous and “sang what she had been rehearsing” not the actual winner.

Celebrations in Logroño

The winning area of Spain was Logroño which is a city in the La Rioja region of northern Spain. Each player who had bought a tenth with that number won €400,000.  After taxation, they’ll receive €328,000.

Most of the winning tickets had been purchased by the Club de Baloncesto Distrito Olimpico de Madrid. Another of the stores that had sold the winning series is owned by Angel Alda. The owner said he was “overwhelmed” and “somewhat scared” at Sunday’s events.

The event at the Teatro Real opera house in Madrid was held in front of an audience of 400. Many were in Santa hats and some dressed as everything from Don Quijote to Christmas elves.

A sometimes chaotic El Gordo de Navidad draw suffered a delay when the crank on one of the drums stuck. That happened just before the third prize winners were announced.

Visiting the number 6 administration in Logroño on Sunday was Amadeo Marin. He’s the actor who starred in  this year’s El Gordo de Navidad advertisement.  Mr Marin said: “What they say most is that I have brought luck to Logroño.”

Meanwhile in the USA, it’s the last chance tomorrow for a pre-Christmas Mega Millions jackpot win. Friday’s draw ended in a rollover and tomorrow, the top prize is a fantastic $944 million. Will we see only the fourth Mega Millions jackpot win of 2024?

Buy tickets now from Lottery24.