LOTTO, P741M

Lotto winner still has to claim P741M 

     MANILA, Philippines—The winner of the P741-million lotto jackpot, who has yet to claim his/her prize but is likely to remain anonymous, beat odds of one in nearly 29 million to guess the right combination of six numbers between one and 55.

     Margarita Juico, the chair of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), which operates the Grand Lotto 6/55, said the PCSO had no idea about the winner of the biggest pot ever save for the fact that the person had placed his or her bet somewhere in Luzon.

    Later in the day, Liza Gabuyo, PCSO assistant general manager, said the bettor’s ticket, a lucky pick, was purchased in Olongapo City, Zambales province.

“It was bought in the day prior to the draw,” Gabuyo said.

     She said the winner would be given one check for the full jackpot, which is tax-free.

To dispel doubts about the integrity of the process of picking winners, Juico said she was open to revising the PCSO protocol and allowing the winning tickets to be made public.

“That can be done. I don’t see any problem with that,” Juico told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview.

Lucky bettor from Luzon wins P741-M Grand Lotto jackpot 

     MANILA, Philippines—The losing spell in the Grand Lotto 6/55 ended on Monday night when an extremely lucky bettor from Luzon bagged the P741-million jackpot by betting on the winning combination 11-16-42-47-31-37.

     Lottery gods must have smiled on Monday night because someone beat the 1-in-29 million odds, a feat that had proved elusive for at least six months since this streak began.

    The jackpot at P741 million was the biggest in the country’s history.

    Liza Gabuyo, PCSO assistant general manager, said the bettor picked the combination, standing to win the pot tax free.

       It took 86 draws before a bettor won the jackpot.

     The previous biggest jackpot was posted in February 2009, when the pot for the 6/49 Super Lotto game reached P347 million. Two lucky bettors picked the same combination to split the top prize.

Opinion: 

     Maraming Pilipino ang naggugugol ng kanilang oras, at pera sa pagtaya sa Lotto. Ngunit nakakalimutan na din minsan ng ilang Pinoy ang limitasyon sa pagtaya dito. Dahil sa sobrang ka-adikan sa Lotto, maging ang perang ipang-bibili ng pagkain pr sa pmilya ay pinantataya at nagbabaksakali upang manalo.  Ngunit ngayong nahuli na ng isang tao ang mailap na pagkapanalo, nawa'y may matutunang leksyon ang mga Pilipino, na sa halip na iasa lamang ang kanlinag buhay sa swerte, bakit hindi na lang sila magkusang magtrabaho upng umunlad ang kanilang buhay.