Six people each won nearly NT$87 million in a bumper lottery jackpot fattened by high-ticket sales and a higher-than-usual proportion of revenues being used for prizes. The winning numbers were 4, 15, 21, 28, 33 and 35 -- with the bonus ball number 31.
Twenty-eight people won the second prize of about NT$3 million each. A total of NT$1.56 billion worth of lottery tickets were sold for last night's draw, according to the semi-official Central News Agency.
TaipeiBank, which operates the lottery, had set aside an extra 16 percent from ticket revenues for prize-winners during the Lunar New Year holiday, boosting the jackpot by about NT$249 million to a total of NT$520.
In a bid to get their share of the money, millions of eager people descended on the nation's lottery booths in a bid to make their New Year dreams come true and become overnight millionaires.
Braving yesterday's rain, one elderly lotto buyer, a man surnamed Lin, said he was hoping that his lucky star would shine on him for the Lunar New Year and help land him the jackpot.
"I buy the lotto every issue," he said. "But this time around, I am spending a bit more than usual on it."
Another lotto buyer said that he had already spent NT$1,000 on the NT$50 tickets and would consider buying more if "inspiration comes."
A lotto-booth owner surnamed Tsai said the queue for tickets would remain long and that the crowds would very likely increase till Friday's draw, when TaipeiBank will again raise the jackpot.
"Because of the bigger jackpot, many customers spent more money than usual on lotto tickets," Tsai said. "All of them are hoping that the Lunar New Year can bring them extra luck."
Since the government loosened restrictions on gambling last January, the biggest jackpot awarded has been NT$346 million.
Lottery retailers predict that Friday's jackpot could exceed NT$350 million as people are drawn in by the higher jackpot. However, some Taipei lotto-booth owners claimed yesterday that ticket sales were not as good as they had hoped.
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