Vietnamese ticketholder wins US$4 million lottery jackpot
Against all odds, the person has somehow picked all the right numbers, becoming the first jackpot winner ever since its debut.
Those oh-so-random numbers 05-21-31-33-38-42 have just made a Vietnamese very rich.
An American-style lottery game, the Mega 6/45, announced that its draw on October 16 found a winning ticket for the top prize of VND92.03 billion (US$4.04 million).
This is the first jackpot winner ever after 39 draws since its debut in July, according to the operator of the lottery, Vietlott.
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The winner now has 60 days to claim the prize either in Ho Chi Minh City or the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, Vietlott said. The identity of the lucky person is still unknown.
Vietlott, or Vietnam Computerized Lottery One Member Limited Liability Company, in January signed an exclusive 18-year contract with Malaysian conglomerate Berjaya to launch computerized lottery games.
The Mega 6/45 is the company's first foray into the market and will be followed by other services.
The name Mega 6/45 explains it all: players select six numbers from 1 to 45 and win the jackpot, starting at VND12 million, by matching all six winning numbers from the draw. Each ticket costs VND10,000 (40 cents).
The jackpot prize will keep growing until there is a winner. The odds of winning are extremely low, believed to be around one in 8.14 million.
Traditional lottery tickets in Vietnam have predetermined numbers printed on them, with the highest prize set at VND1.5 billion (US$65,900).
Vietnam's average annual income was around US$2,100 last year, according to the World Bank.
The country generally does not allow its citizens to gamble, but lottery tickets are popular across the country.
