Trader, employee win P77-M lotto jackpot

MANILA, Philippines - A 58-year-old buy and sell trader from Quezon and his 45-year-old employee have claimed the P77,373,363.60 jackpot of the 6/49 Super Lotto online lottery draw last Feb. 10 from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

PCSO spokesman Manny Garcia said the winning number combination 44-06-09-01-40-24 represents the birthdays and ages of family members of the employee who had been betting on the number combination for one year.

The trader and his employee bought two lotto tickets worth P40 last week while they were on a business trip in La Union. They agreed to share the jackpot if they won.

As a matter of policy and security, the identities of the winners are kept secret.

The duo used the employee’s number combination that represents her birth date and age of her son.

Garcia said the two winners claimed their prizes yesterday morning at the PCSO central Office at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

The PCSO issued two separate checks worth over P38.6 million to the two winners.

“The trader still had eye bags because he was sleepless the past four days,” a source at the PCSO said.

Two men and a woman believed to be lawyers and a bank employee accompanied the two winners when they claimed their prize.

Garcia said the lucky players are the 12th and 13th lotto millionaires for this year.

Last month, 11 lucky winners became instant millionaires   after they won jackpots ranging from P23 million to P61 million.

The winner of the P61 million from Pasay City has yet to claim the prize.

Among the winners who claimed their prizes was a 39-year-old jobless man from Cebu City who was also a victim of illegal recruitment. He won the P3.4-million jackpot of the 6/42 Regular Lotto draw last Jan. 25.

A 26-year-old jobless woman also claimed the P15,718,660.20 jackpot prize of the of the 6/55 Grand Lotto draw last Jan. 31.

The woman bought her ticket at Bagong Silangan in Caloocan City.