The luck of the draw

El Gordo, Spain

The lottery, known as El Gordo or ‘the fat one’, belongs to Spain. It isMSpain’s Christmas lottery. This lottery is a national event for Spaniards. It has been played by them since 1812. a) ........................ The lottery is quite different. The players of the lottery do not choose numbers. They buy a ticket with a 5-digit number on it, and anyone who has that ticket when the numbers are called wins a share of the prize. b) ................................

Euro Millions, Europe

The EuroMillions lottery is held twice a week in nine European countries – Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. The British have done really well in recent EuroMillions draws, taking five of the jackpots this year. c) ..................................

Mega Millions, the United States

The winner of Mega Millions will only receive the full prize if he or she agree to have it paid in instalments over a number of years. d) ...............................

Since the lottery began in 1996, the biggest jackpot has been $390 million, which happened in March 2007. That prize was split between two winners in Georgia and New Jersey. However, winners like Andrew Jackson Whittaker mention that money does not always mean happiness. The West Virginia businessman won $315 million in 2002, at that time the largest jackpot in history won by a single person. e) .............................. He told ABC News that his wife had said she wished that she had torn the ticket up and he had wished the same

too.’ f) .............................

Adapted from the BBC & NY Times websites