The chances of winning the Eurojackpot lottery are around one in 140 million. Still, at some point, someone can pull it off, and someone in Berlin, Germany, just pocketed the maximum prize of €120 million (US$120.9 million) last week.
A sign for the Eurojackpot in Germany shows players how much they could win in a recent draw. A player took the prize on November 7, making it one of the two largest payouts in the lottery this year. (Image: News.de)
The Eurojackpot found a winner for the first time after 16 draws without a main prize win, as Westlotto announced following the draw in Helsinki. Someone already stepped forward to claim the winnings, although the lottery operator didn’t provide further information.
Although there have been a number of lottery winners in Germany, its capital city of Berlin has never been that lucky. As with all lottery payouts in the country, the individual or group that won gets to keep the entire amount since lottery winnings are tax-free.
Eurojackpot Reaches New Heights
The 18 participating European countries changed the rules for the tenth anniversary of the lottery at the end of March 2022. It was then that they raised the upper limit from €90 million to €120 million (US$90.7 million to $120.9 million). Not long after, in May, a group from North Rhine-Westphalia cleared €110 million (US$110.85 million), setting a record profit for Germany.
The latest jackpot prize surpasses that, although it’s the second time this year that a ticket matched all the right numbers for €120 million. This past July, a jackpot with the maximum value of €120 million went to a winning ticket in Denmark.
Until the rule change in the spring, German players in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia won the top prizes of €90 million. North Rhine-Westphalia had two big winners.
According to the Westlotto information, 17 other players, or groups of players, won second prizes as the Berliner took the big one. There were 18 million payouts, which also set a Eurojackpot record.
Baden-Württemberg saw four tickets win €1.2 million (US$1.2 million). At the same time, three tickets in Bavaria collected identical sums, as did two each in Berlin, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. One matching ticket in North Rhine-Westphalia added to the massive payouts.
There were also similar winners in Denmark, Hungary and Poland. The 18 million payouts beat the record of 15 million, which endured since February 7, 2020.
The Eurojackpot is just one of several options available to German consumers. The Spiel 77, Super 6 and Glücksspirale, among others, are also available. After the Eurojackpot, though, the largest lottery is the country’s Lotto. It has a maximum payout of €45 million (US$45.2 million).
Eclipsed By The Powerball
As large as the latest Eurojackpot prize was, it’s still much smaller than the Powerball jackpot in the US this week. A ticket sold at a service station in Altadena, CA, matched all six numbers in the November 7 draw, which had a top prize of $2.04 billion.
The draw should have occurred on Monday night. However, it faced delays after one of the participating states, experiencing a run on purchases, needed more time to complete required security measures.
The winner, who has not yet been identified, can choose to receive a single payout of about $1.4 billion (before taxes). The other option is to receive the entire amount paid over three decades in annuities.
While the winner’s identity is still under wraps, that of the owner of the convenience store that sold the ticket isn’t. Joe Chahayed, according to TMZ, is behind Joe’s Service Center, and is also the father-in-law of former Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko, Sr. Because his store sold the winning ticket, Chahayed will receive $1 million from Powerball.
The post Eurojackpot Lottery Player in Berlin, Germany Scores $120M Top Prize appeared first on Casino.org.
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