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Ticket rush over £120m lottery Seven Britons win in £120m lotto
(about 15 hours later)
A potential world-record lottery payout has sparked massive ticket sales for the estimated £120m EuroMillions jackpot draw taking place later. Seven Britons have won an estimated £6.5m each in the EuroMillions draw, Camelot said.
If a single ticket wins the prize, then it will be the largest-ever lottery pay-out, Camelot have said. They are believed to be among a total of 20 winners across Europe to share the estimated £120m prize.
The prize has rolled over 11 times and if there is no winner on this occasion, the jackpot will be shared among the next set of winners in the draw. The numbers in the draw are 12, 22, 32, 33 and 36, with the Lucky Star numbers being 2 and 6.
Operators have predicted a 650% rise on normal ticket sales levels. No ticket matched all the numbers so the jackpot is being shared among the next set of winners who matched five numbers and one Lucky Star.
If a single ticket had taken the prize, it would have been the largest lottery pay-out, the UK's lottery operator Camelot said. The prize fund had rolled over 11 times.
The UK had the largest number of winners in Friday's draw followed by France with four, Portugal and Spain with three each, Ireland with two and Belgium with one, a Camelot spokesman said.
Rise in sales
Players must match five main numbers from one to 50 and two Lucky Star numbers, one to nine, to win the draw.Players must match five main numbers from one to 50 and two Lucky Star numbers, one to nine, to win the draw.
Ticket rush
Tickets for the competition are sold in the UK, the Irish Republic, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg.Tickets for the competition are sold in the UK, the Irish Republic, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg.
According to last week's sales, only France sold more tickets than Britain. According to last week's sales, only France sold more tickets than the UK.
EuroMillions rules stipulate that jackpots can only rollover a maximum of 11 times and must be won on the 12th week.EuroMillions rules stipulate that jackpots can only rollover a maximum of 11 times and must be won on the 12th week.
A spokesman said: "Ticket sales this Friday are expected to exceed 2.5 million an hour - over 700 tickets a second." Operators were predicting a 650% rise on normal ticket sales levels.
Tiny chancesTiny chances
Bigger lottery jackpots have been offered in the US but the winners instead went for smaller amounts in one-off payments.Bigger lottery jackpots have been offered in the US but the winners instead went for smaller amounts in one-off payments.
The chances of winning the top prize have been put at 76 million to one.The chances of winning the top prize have been put at 76 million to one.
The biggest jackpot offered in the UK to date was a £125m EuroMillions prize in February this year, which was won by the holders of two tickets sold in France and one sold in Portugal.The biggest jackpot offered in the UK to date was a £125m EuroMillions prize in February this year, which was won by the holders of two tickets sold in France and one sold in Portugal.
Dolores McNamara, 50, from Garryowen, County Limerick, scooped £77m (112m euros) in July 2005 on EuroMillions, making her the winner of Europe's largest lottery jackpot.Dolores McNamara, 50, from Garryowen, County Limerick, scooped £77m (112m euros) in July 2005 on EuroMillions, making her the winner of Europe's largest lottery jackpot.