Christmas Lottery 2020: The Great Myths of the Draw

Always play the same number, or one that ends with 7, and don't buy where you have won. Many superstitions and tricks can be attributed to the Christmas Gordo Lottery. These are just a few of the false myths and hoaxes surrounding the Christmas Gordo Lottery.

Every Christmas, the Christmas scene is complete with the lines at Dona Manolita and La Bruixa d'Or. These famous administrations are popular because many people believe that the Gordo will be distributed to them this year. This isn't true. No matter where the tickets are bought, all numbers have equal chances of being released. One reason why some administrations give out more prizes than others, is that they have more tickets because of their celebrity. A venue that gives out more numbers is more likely to sell the winning number.

Every year, all numbers are entered into the hype regardless of whether or not they were drawn previously. Two numbers have received the Gordo in the 206 editions. They were 15,640 in 1956 and 1978 and 20,297 respectively in 1903, 2006, and 2006.

Because the probability of a draw does not increase over time, each year has the same chance to win as the previous one. You have the same chance of winning a prize by changing the number you play each year or buying the exact same one every time.

Each number has the same chance of being awarded. There are no numbers with more chances than others to be chosen in the hype. It is common belief among players that low numbers don't come out. However, statistical data does not support this superstition. Three-digit numbers have been awarded three times despite being the most in demand. In 1828, the 523 was awarded the first prize. The 615 won in 1866, and the 675 in 1962.

The most popular thousand has been the 'two thousand': tickets with numbers ranging from 2,000 to 2999 have won the first prize ten of a possible ten times. Nine times have the Gordo been won by the "nine thousand", eight times by the "six thousand", seven times by the "twelve thousand" and seven times respectively by the "fifteen thousand" and the [fifteen thousand] tickets, seven, and eight respectively. However, the Christmas Lottery's highest award in history was 79,250 in 2010, specifically.

The endings are the same, but el Gordo is the one that has been graced 32 times. Other lucky endings include 4 and 6, which have been awarded the first prize 27 times. A statistical curiosity puts El Gordo at the opposite end of the spectrum. According to data from State Lotteries and Bets, El Gordo has finished on this number only eight times in over two centuries. These are followed by 9 and 2 in this list.

The draw drum accepts all numbers between 00000 and 99,999. All numbers have the exact same chance of being drawn. The probability of a number hitting the Gordo is therefore 1/100,000. The numbers are laser-engraved on the balls so that paint doesn't make the 88888 ball heavier than 11111 and have a greater chance of hitting the Gordo. Although the chance of hitting the Gordo is small (one out of a hundred thousand), it's still greater than hitting the first category in the Euromillions draw (one of 76 million) and the six numbers in the Primitiva (one of almost fourteen million).

Loterias y Apuestas del Estado repeatedly denied the widespread rumor it gives the King and Royal House the tenths. Anyone can purchase a ticket with this number online, or in any of the five administrations that sell it: In Cadiz, Murcia, Plaza San Juan de Dios (8), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (3), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (3), Calle General Vives (73), Logrono (11) and Valencia (Carrer Maestro Guillem (5). In 2014, the number 00000 was presented with a stone. One of the winners was a woman who attended Teatro Real's draw. She showed her tenth, which was from Logrono, in front of the cameras. After selling 160 tenths, the Riojan administration distributed 19,200 euro.

A message was started to spread in 2017 that called for a boycott of 'La Bruixa d'Or'. This famous administration is located in Lleida, Sort. Its owner, Xavier Gabriel (an independentista and councilor from Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya), was the reason. . This is false information. This information is false. Xavier Gabriel wasn't an ERC councilor. He has actually publicly opposed independence on multiple occasions. He tweeted in October 2017 that he loved Catalonia and felt Spanish, but was against independence. After declaring that he had been subject to "harassment, threats", by independentistas, he moved his fiscal and social headquarters for his lottery administration from Catalonia into Navarra. Gabriel stated, in statements to Efe, "I have done much for Catalonia, and in fact, feel very Catalan. So I don't get why I have to endure this."

According to a popular legend, the first Christmas Lottery prize was awarded in Quintanar de La Orden, Toledo. However, no neighbor was able to celebrate the occasion. Why? It was sold in shares to a local hostess and nobody wanted to celebrate or collect it to avoid being exposed. This legend is false.

Although it is true that El Gordo sold an entire series, with 4 million euros distributed in the municipality, it was done at the Lottery Administration Number 2 located on Calle Pasaje Angel y Maria. Carlos Madero the mayor, refuted this rumor in an ABC newspaper.

This legend was printed in some media, and it has been ridiculed by the locality via social networks. The film "Villaviciosa de al lado", which was directed by Nacho Garcilla and released in 2016, also retold the tale of the misadventures in a fictional town, where the Fat Christmas lived in a brothel.