Winning ticket for latest Lotto 6/49 top prize purchased in Taoyuan

Taipei, Jan. 21 (CNA) One ticket won the top prize of NT$200 million (US$6.6 million) in the latest drawing Friday of the twice-weekly "Lotto 6/49," according to Taiwan Lottery.

The top prize goes to any player who picks the six numbers between 1 and 49 that are drawn, with other prizes given to people who have chosen between two and five of the winning numbers and/or an additional special number.

The prize amounts vary based on the total receipts from tickets purchased for each drawing.

For the Lunar New Year holiday, the traditionally twice-weekly lotto will be available everyday until Feb. 5, drawing new sets of winning numbers for 17 days straight.

Only one ticket, issued in Guishan District in Taoyuan, had the six winning numbers -- 16, 25, 27, 31, 34 and 42 -- drawn Friday, earning the winner a prize of NT$200,072,070.

There were four winners of the NT$1,728,222 prize for picking five of the six winning numbers and the special number correctly, and 90 winners of NT$57,402 who had five of the six winning numbers, according to Taiwan Lottery.

A total of 236 tickets won a prize of NT$14,072 for having four of the winning numbers and the special number and 4,529 tickets won a prize of NT$2,000 for picking four winning numbers.

Thousands of ticket holders also won prizes of NT$400 and NT$1,000 for picking fewer of the numbers drawn.

The company estimated sales for the next Lotto 6/49 drawing will be around NT$300 million, guaranteeing a top prize of at least NT$100 million.

The company is also putting up 360 bonus prizes of NT$1 million for special daily nine-number drawings from Jan. 20 to until all of the NT$1 million prizes are claimed, with Feb. 5 scheduled as the last day of the event.

To win, players must correctly pick six of nine numbers between 1 and 49 drawn for the contest, which on Friday were 07, 08, 12, 23, 24, 27, 31, 35 and 45.

A total of 29 sets of the NT$1 million dollar bonus were given out Friday, but because two sets of winning combinations were shared between two sets of tickets, respectively, four tickets shared the million-dollar prize money, which lowered their winnings to NT$500,000 per ticket.

In a statistical oddity, five numbers from the opening drawing of last year's bonus prize were repeated in this year's inaugural drawing, which had an 11.51 million to one chance of occurring.