720 million Euro Top Prize Of "El Gordo"

People celebrates winning a share in the top prize of Spain's Christmas lottery known as "El Gordo" or "The Fat One" with the number 58268 in the small town of Granen, northern Spain, Thursday Dec. 22, 2011, around 300 kilometers from Madrid.

Economic gloom is taking a back seat in Spain as the lottery billed as the world's richest dishes out some euro 2.52 billion ($3.29 billion) to winners across the nation. The top prize of euro 720 million, dubbed "El Gordo" was split Thursday among the holders of tickets bearing the number 58268. The number appeared on 1,800 tickets. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

Spanish Christmas Lottery

The Spanish Christmas Lottery (Sorteo de Navidad or Lotería de Navidad) is a national lottery game organized every year since 1812 by a branch of the Spanish Public Administration, now called Loterías y Apuestas del Estado. The name Sorteo de Navidad was used for the first time in 1892. As measured by the total prize payout, the Christmas Lottery is considered the biggest lottery worldwide. In 2006, if all of the tickets were sold, the total amount payout of prizes would be worth more than €2.142 billion (70% of ticket sales).