| The Euromillions
jackpot for Friday 17 November will be worth
around €180 million (approximately £121
million) as it enters the twelfth week since
the last time anyone won the top prize. Under
Euromillions rules, the jackpot is not allowed
to roll over twelve times, so if nobody wins
the top prize this Friday by matching 5 main
numbers plus 2 Lucky Star numbers, the €180
million will be distributed to those who match
5 main numbers and just 1 Lucky Star number.
Euromillions tickets have been selling like
proverbial hot cakes (at a peak rate of more
than 1 million tickets per hour) for the last
few draws, so the fact that this Friday’s
draw is sure to see €180 million distributed
to at least one lucky player is likely to create
a ticket-buying frenzy of unprecedented proportions.
This makes it advisable to buy your tickets
early in the week, as the last-minute rush for
tickets is expected to cause chaos in the most
popular lottery outlets.
If the jackpot is won by just one player, then
that player will break the previous record held
for the biggest individual win. In July 1995,
Dolores McNamara won €115 million –
a sum which is around €65 million less
than the jackpot on offer this Friday.
Of course, this isn’t the first time
that the Euromillions jackpot has hit the €180
million mark. The biggest jackpot on record
was actually €183,573,077 in February of
this year. However, on that occasion the jackpot
was shared by three winners, so although each
winner took home €61,191,025, they were
still a long way behind Dolores’ €115
million fortune.
The odds of winning the Euromillions jackpot
are 1 in 76,275,360, but as we said earlier,
if no jackpot winner is found then the €180
million top tier prize fund will be shared between
all second tier prize winners. The odds of matching
5 main numbers and just 1 Lucky Star number
(which is what you need to do to qualify for
the second tier prize) are a much better 1 in
5,448,240. This makes the coming Euromillions
draw on Friday 17 November superb value for
money – but you need to be in it to win
it!
France and Portugal have had the most success
as far as jackpot winners are concerned, and
British players will be hoping that Lady Luck
turns to smile in their direction for a change.
Bon chance!
13 November 2006
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