The Euromillions draw or Eurolottery takes place every Friday night in Paris. There are five main numbers and two so-called ‘Lucky Stars’ that need to be correctly picked to win the Euromillions Draw. Different combinations of numbers award different prizes in the Euromillions Draw, from just a few pounds to many millions of pounds. Entry costs £2 in the UK. The participating countries are the UK, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Irish Republic, Portugal and Switzerland. The first draw took place February 2004. The machines in the Euromillions Draw, which each contain 50 balls, are called Stresa and Paquerette.
Euromillions Draw Jackpot Winners
The largest win to date was by a UK resident in October 2010, when a single, anonymous ticket holder scooped £113 million, instantly eclipsing the fortunes of the Gibb brothers, Phil Collins, David Bowie and Rod Stewart. The money would have generated £9,000 a day in interest payments and make it’s owner the 589th richest person in Britain. It is thought that that a group of four friends from Coventry were the lucky winners. Astonishingly, over 1000 people made claims to this particular Euromillions draw jackpot. A million pound prize expired in April 2011 after a ticket holder from South Lanarkshire failed to claim their winnings following the October 8th draw. The money went to good causes. The media will generally speculate on who the big winners are, even if they opt to remain anonymous. The highest known single winner was Delores McNamara, who collected €115.6 million. Despite the enormous odds, large jackpots increase ticket sales dramatically. In March 2011 unprecedented demand for online tickets caused UK operator Camelot’s website to crash.
Euromillions Draw Rollover
Occasionally, super draws take place, when the jackpot is raised to €100 or €130 million. These special draws are funded by a ‘booster fund’, itself funded by 6% of the takings. Previously, the jackpot could roll over up to 11 times. From 2009, if the jackpot exceeds €185,000,000, any additional funds are added to the next prize level down. There are a number of further reforms effective from May 2011, whereby the number of ‘lucky stars’ will increase, a small prize for matching two main numbers and no lucky stars will exist, and a Tuesday draw will be introduced.
It’s fun to buy a Euromillions ticket when the prize is larger than usual, but be careful what you wish forl the Euromillions Draw is a serious life changing prize to win!
