Germans waiting to see who won record lottery jackpot

Sunday, October 08, 2006 posted 07:25 PM EDT

Berlin - Germans were waiting with baited breath on Sunday to see who won the country's biggest-ever lottery jackpot, a whopping 37 million euros (47 million dollars).

Millions of people were glued to their television sets on Saturday evening when the numbers were drawn at the end of a frantic day which saw a long queues at shops selling lottery tickets.

'I'd never seen anything like it,' said Katrin Pope, an employee at a ticket booth in the eastern city of Magdeburg. 'People were packed together like sardines.'

Some shops stayed open later than usual, while others brought in extra staff to cope with demand as more than 40 million punters tried their luck, among them Poles, Danes, Belgians and Dutch, who made a quick trip across the border to have a flutter.

Turnover was estimated at 143 million euros, about 50 per cent more than last week when the rollover jackpot was 26 million euros. The increased takings prompted lottery officials to up Saturday's jackpot from a planned 35 million euros to 37 million euros.

No one has won the top prize for six weeks in the twice-weekly lottery, or Lotto as it's called in German.

To win the jackpot a person needs to pick six correct numbers out of 49 and match the last number of his lottery ticket with a bonus ball or super number drawn separately.

Saturday's lucky numbers were 28, 30, 31, 34, 41, 48 with 4 drawn as the super number.

The state-run lottery organization won't be naming any jackpot winners until Monday because of labour contracts with its employees which rule out processing tickets on Sundays.

But the chances of winning are pretty slim - one in 140 million or 0.0000007 per cent, according to mathematical calculations.

And not everyone is enthralled at the idea of becoming a multimillionaire.

'I think 35 million euros is too much,' said Munich pensioner Helga Maier. 'You could make a lot more people happy by having smaller prizes.'

If nobody does crack the jackpot, it will continue to accumulate until October 18, after which the total prize money will be distributed to ticket holders with six correct numbers, but without the bonus number.

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