The biggest win in the history of the popular Hong Kong lottery Mark Six was recorded in the New Year’s draw, timed to coincide with the arrival of the Year of the Snake according to the lunar calendar. According to the South China Morning Post, the winner, who was determined late on Sunday evening, took home 193,762,620 Hong Kong dollars (about $25 million).
According to the rules of the lottery, organized by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, it is necessary to guess 6 out of 49 numbers. The numbers that were drawn were 14, 18, 30, 36, 40 and 42. It has not yet been reported who exactly received the historic win. Second place was taken by 12 tickets (5 out of 6 numbers were guessed) – each such ticket brought its owner 1,215,620 Hong Kong dollars (more than $150 thousand).
One ticket – one bet – costs 10 Hong Kong dollars ($1.3). In the run-up to the Lunar New Year, crowds lined up to buy tickets, some buying up to a hundred. The total amount of tickets bought brought in more than HK$380 million, which was also a record. According to the lottery’s distribution mechanism, 54% of the total bet goes to the prize fund, 25% goes to pay the betting tax, 15% goes to charity, and the remaining 6% is retained as a commission for the Jockey Club.