By Channel NewsAsia's Taiwan Bureau Chief Young Ming
TAIPEI : It is a hot 37 degrees Celsius in Taiwan but the weather is no dampener when it comes to lottery fever, especially when Thursday's draw will net the winner a cool US$30 million.
Since the start of computerized lottery betting in Taiwan, hundreds of jackpot winners have been produced.
But over the past three weeks, the winning numbers have eluded all punters.
So the prize money has snowballed to close to US$30 million -- the highest ever bounty -- waiting to be collected by the winner or winners on Thursday's draw.
Long queues have been forming since sales started, with every person hoping he or she will emerge the next millionaire.
"I will win. There's always hope as long as you buy the tickets," one Taiwanese said.
To win the big lotto, all you have to do is pick six out of 49 numbers.
Each ticket costs NT$50, or about US$1.50.
The rest is up to pure luck.
Taiwanese have long been famous for their love of gambling.
While many resort to unique ways to find what they believe are their lucky numbers, most lottery buyers prefer to leave that to the computer.
"I believe numbers picked by computers have a better chance of winning -- about 65 percent -- while numbers picked by players have only about 35 percent chance of winning," said Huang Yo-chung, the owner of a lottery betting station.
According to Taipei Bank, the authorized lottery issuer in Taiwan, the big lotto has attracted many international players as well as those from mainland China.
"We have punters from Singapore, Japan, America, India. They're all eyeing the highest prize money ever. So the fame of Taiwan's big lotto has now reached worldwide," said Huang.
In the outlying island of Kinmen, most lottery tickets are sold to big time players from the Chinese province of Fujian, who ask their friends or relatives to buy on their behalf.
But if a Chinese mainlander hits the jackpot, the lotto winner may have trouble claiming the money, because Taipei Bank requires the winner to come personally to collect the winnings.
It is not impossible but it will be quite difficult for a Chinese national to apply for a permit to travel to Taiwan.
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