Euro Millions Lotto

[esther schneider]

The Euro millions lotto was developed by the Francaise des Jeux in
France and the Loterias y Apuestas des Estad in Spain and Camelot in
the Uk and was launched on Saturday The 7th of february 2004. The
inaugural draw was on on Friday The 13th of february 2004 in Paris.
The Uk, France and Spain were participating initially, but lotteries
from Austria, Belgium, the Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal
and Switzerland then signed up to the draw on the 8th of october 2004.
The Euromillions lotto, or the Euro loto as it is frequently known,
gathers the stakes of all nine participating European nations
presenting a mammoth Euro lotto prize. With the amount of nations
joining the EU building, this will clearly lead to new countries
participating in the Euro millions lotto. An increase in the amount of
people playing the Euro lotto will lead to a continuing growth of the
already huge Euromillions lottery prize.
The prize is rolled over each week until it is won giving rise to some
substantial winnings. On 3rd february 2006, after rolling over 11
times, the Euro lotto jackpot of '125,194,303 was collected by three
ticket holders (two in France and one in Portugal), making it Europe's
biggest ever lotto prize.
How to play
Every participant chooses 5 main numbers which can be any number from
1 to 50 and 2 lucky star numbers which can be any number from 1 to 9.
During the draw, 5 main and 2 lucky star numbers are then picked at
random from two draw machines containing numbered balls. The device
containing 50 balls is known as Stresa and the one containing the nine
lucky star balls is named Paquerette.
Euro millions prize breakdown
The odds of picking up the Euro lottery top prize is a distant 1 in 76
million but the chances of winning any prize at all are a generous 1
in 24. 16 per cent of the prize pot is given to a "Booster Fund" which
can be used to increase the prize pot. The numbers for the estimated
prize are only a guide and the true amount alters according to the
total in the prize fund and the number of winners for each prize. If
the jackpot is not won, it rolls over until the following week.
However, if the prize is not won on the twelfth successive week (i.e.,
eleven rollovers), then the jackpot prize is "rolled down" by
distributing it between winners of the next level instead of rolling
it forward again.
An exception to this rule would have been on 3 February 2006, which,
if the jackpot had not been collected, the prize would have been
rolled over for a thirteenth week.
New rules brought in on The 4th of January 2007 and became law on On
the 9th of February 2007 restrict the number of consecutive draws to
eleven, with the jackpot rolling down to lower prize levels in the
eleventh draw if the prize is not won. The new rules also introduced
"Event Draws" also referred to as "Superdraws", in which there will be
a guarantee of the minimum amount which is available to pay prizes in
the Match 5 and 2 Lucky Stars Prize Category; if an Event Draw isn't
won it will be rolled down. The first Event Draw took place on
February 9, 2007 for 100m Euros ('66m, 165m sfr) to celebrate the
Euromillions third birthday.
Notable euro millions wins
On On the 9th of February 2007, a Belgian gentleman collected the Euro
millions lotto prize of 100 million Euros ($132 million or '67.9
million) with a ticket purchased in a newspaper shop in Tienen. This
is the largest lotto win in Belgium and the second-largest individual
win in euromillions history.
By 17 November 2006, after rolling over 11 times, the European lottery
prize reached 183 million Euros ($241 million or '124 million pounds).
No ticket matched all the winning numbers for the 12th draw, so the
jackpot was split among the 20 tickets that matched 5 numbers and 1
lucky star number. Every such ticket was worth 9.6 million Euros
($12.6 million). That is 5% of the jackpot plus the regular match 5 +1
prize. 7 of the 20 tickets were purchased in the United Kingdom, 4 in
France, 3 each in Portugal and Spain, 2 in the Republic of Ireland,
and 1 in Belgium.
On 31 march 2006, after rolling over 6 times, the European lotto prize
of 75,753,123 Euros ($100,175,909) was won by one Belgian gentleman,
the second biggest win ever in Belgium, and the third-biggest prize
won by an individual.
On the 3rd of February 2006, after rolling over 11 times, the
Euromillions lotto prize of 180 million Euros ($238 million) was
collected by three ticket holders, two in France and one in Portugal.
The three winners won 60 million Euros ($79 million) each.
On 31 July 2005, after rolling over 9 times, the European lotto prize
of 115 million Euros ($152 million) was won on a ticket bought in
Garryowen, Limerick, Ireland. The lucky ticket holder was Dolores
McNamara, mother of six; she is still the biggest single winner in
Euromillions history. She claimed the prize on the 4th of august at
the Irish National loto's headquarters in Dublin.