NT$112 million won by one person in Lotto 6/49 on 1st day of Year of Rabbit

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) One person has won the top prize of NT$112 million (US$3.68 million) in the popular Lotto 6/49 lottery on Sunday, the first day of the Year of the Rabbit, according to Taiwan Lottery Co.

The winning lottery was sold by a lottery vendor in Yongkang District, Tainan, in southern Taiwan, marking the seventh consecutive year that a Lotto 6/49 lottery ticket buyer had won the top prize on the first day of the Lunar New Year in the Chinese calendar, said Taiwan Lottery, which organizes lotteries in Taiwan and uses the proceeds for welfare purposes.

Taiwan Lottery said the same person also won 12 third prizes valued at NT$29,403 each, and 15 fifth prizes valued at NT$2,000 each.

To celebrate the upcoming Year of the Rabbit and boost sales, Taiwan Lottery is adding NT$900 million in prize money to the jackpots of the major lotteries, such as Lotto 6/49, the Super Lotto, and BINGO BINGO, from Jan. 16 to March 16.

As for Lotto 6/49, the prize money is distributed in two parts during the holiday season as has been standard practice in recent years.

The first part is through a daily draw held by Lotto 6/49 for 17 consecutive days from Jan. 20 to Feb. 5, the longest period a daily draw has been held in the lottery's history, surpassing the 15 daily draws in a row held during the 2021 Lunar New Year.

The Lotto 6/49, in which lottery ticket buyers have to pick the correct six numbers and an additional special number drawn from a total of 49 numbers to win the top prize, is usually held every Tuesday and Friday.

The second part is conducted through special 360 draws held from Jan. 20-Feb. 5 to win NT$1 million, which is called the "big red envelope" for the Lunar New Year holiday, according to Taiwan Lottery.

The winning numbers for the top prize of the Lotto 6/49 lottery on Sunday in the first part were 06, 08, 10, 22, 27, and 29 with a special number of 23, Taiwan Lottery said.

In the second part for the big red envelopes, the winning numbers on Sunday were 10, 16, 23, 26, 28, 29, 35, 41, and 45, and a total of 30 winning tickets won the NT$1 million, Taiwan Lottery added.

On Sunday, a total of 35 lottery shops sold winning tickets for the NT$1 million big envelopes, including one located in Zhushan township in Nantou County, which sold its ninth winning ticket since 2014, the lottery supplier said.

The lottery supplier said another shop located in Tanzi District in Taichung sold its second winning ticket for the big envelope on Sunday. The Tanzi outlet also sold a winning Lotto 6/49 ticket that won a prize of NT$1 million in 2021.

So far, a total of 100 ticket buyers have won the big red envelope prize money in Lotto 6/49, with 75 winning NT$1 million in a single bid and 25 sharing prize money with others, Taiwan Lottery said.

After Sunday, 273 big envelopes for NT$1 million prizes remain available, Taiwan Lottery added.