There are less than two weeks left for the traditional Christmas Lottery raffle and there are many who rush to the end to get the long-awaited tenth or complete their particular collection that they have been compiling in recent months in different provinces of Spain. It is evident that those who do not play, do not play, but less evident, but it is equally true that, historically, there are places where the goddess of luck smiles more frequently. Here we break down the luckiest locations in the Christmas Lottery since its inception, back in the year 1812.
The ranking is led by Madrid, where ‘El Gordo’ has relapsed a total of 82 times, the last of them in 2021 (it has already been six consecutive years, according to SELAE data). Buying a ticket in the capital statistically increases your chances of getting a first prize, but in which of its more than 600 Lottery administrations? they follow him Barcelona (42), Seville (17), Bilbao (14), Valencia (14), Zaragoza (13) and Cádizwhere surprisingly he has played up to a total of twelve times.
provinces map
Other Spanish cities have been graced with El Gordo on several occasions throughout history. What Málagawhere the first prize has been awarded ten times; Santander, Alicante and Granadanine times. A Coruña, San Sebastián and Gijón they have been awarded seven times; Psoul of Majorca, in six; Y badajoz o Lugoin five.
Map of municipalities
That the prize hits large populations is apparently the most normal thing. Outstanding are the cases of towns such as Manises, Sort, Boñar (León), Carballo (A Coruña), Casas Ibáñez (Albacete) or Algeciras (Cádiz), where by equal probability they should never have played, as in Melilla, and yet they accumulate several years collecting the ‘Gordo’ for their neighbors. In the Valencian municipality it has played up to five times (1971, 1986, 2012, 2013 and 2018), while in the home of the most famous witch in Spain it has left the highest prize a total of four times. Stranger still is that in a small town of less than 2,000 inhabitants like Boñar (León) it plays up to three times, so if you pass by by chance you would do well to get a tenth.
Province capitals without ‘Gordo’
The first prize has also fallen three times in places such as San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia), San Bartolomé de Tirajana (Las Palmas), Granadilla de Abona (Tenerife) or Puerto de la Cruz (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and twice in San Vicent del Raspeig (Alicante), Sant Quirze del Vallés (Barcelona), Coria (Cáceres), Almuñécar (Granada) or Linares (Jaén).
Some provincial capitals have had less luck than all these small towns. This is the case of Guadalajara, Huelva and Orense. And in others it has not even touched, such as Avila, Girona, Jaen, Tarragona and Toledo Will this 2022 be the year of the Fat in these locations?
