The Eurojackpot filled with 120 million euros has been cracked. The note with the lucky combination of numbers was handed in in Berlin - the winnings are a record for Germany. So far, the winner has not reported, as Lotto Berlin spokesman Thomas Dumke said on Wednesday. The note for 20.50 euros was handed in anonymously on Tuesday shortly before the closing date at a collection point in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district.
What does the expert recommend with such a high profit? Dumke advises secrecy and a certain calm. "It's really the case that you should calm down first. You shouldn't let yourself be pushed," he said. You can claim the profit now and then have three years to collect the money.
Record profit for Germany
So far, only one big winner has not picked up his prize in Berlin, said Dumke. That was in 1991. At that time it was about 1.6 million Deutschmarks in Game 77. "This is the only major prize that was not picked up in Berlin." He is therefore hopeful that they will be able to hand over the prize this time as well.
With the cracked Euro jackpot, someone set a record profit for Germany. With the winning numbers 15 - 17 - 23 - 35 - 38 and the two Euro numbers 4 and 9, a player was correct for the first time after 16 draws without a main prize, as Westlotto announced after the draw in Helsinki. The probability of winning the Eurojackpot is 1 in 140 million.
According to the information, 17 other tipsters or syndicates were able to look forward to winnings in the millions in the second prize category. 1,209,751.50 euros went four times to Baden-Württemberg, three times to Bavaria, twice to Berlin, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse, and once to North Rhine-Westphalia. There was also a winner in Denmark, Hungary and Poland.
Definitely don't go public
When you hear about a sum in the millions, some people might start thinking: What would you do with that much money? The board of directors of Lotto Berlin, Hansjörg Höltkemeier, asked that such a prize be treated with the utmost confidentiality and that the immediate family be informed if necessary. "Under no circumstances should such a win be publicly announced or celebrated by the winner," Höltkemeier was quoted as saying in a statement.
In the USA, a jackpot of around two billion dollars was even won in the Powerball lottery. The winning ticket was bought in the US state of California, the organizers announced on Tuesday. The numbers on it: 10, 33, 41, 47, 56 and as an additional number 10. It is the highest jackpot sum in the history of the lottery, which has existed since 1992.
If the winner, who was not initially identified, wants everything paid out in cash immediately, he does not get the total of $ 2.04 billion (equivalent to almost 2.03 billion euros) but around $ 998 million due to various deductions. However, the winner could also opt for an annual payment of partial sums.
Back to the Eurojackpot: Here the upper limit was recently raised from 90 to 120 million euros. To mark the tenth anniversary of the European lottery, the 18 participating countries changed the rules accordingly at the end of March. In May, a syndicate from North Rhine-Westphalia won 110 million euros, setting a record profit for Germany. That has now been surpassed. A maximum jackpot of 120 million euros had previously been cracked. The prize went to Denmark in July.
The high sum builds up when no player correctly ticks the drawn numbers 5 out of 50 and the Euro numbers (additional numbers) 2 out of 12. The undistributed money from the first prize category then goes into the jackpot for the next draw. The draw is in Helsinki, and the lottery is coordinated by Westlotto in Münster.
