Luck visited an obscure lotto outlet in barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City.
Few bettors know about the home-based outlet of Leila Salutillo but this won’t be the case for long after news broke that the P68 million jackpot winner of last Saturday’s 6/55 lotto draw had bought his ticket there.
When Cebu Daily News visited the outlet in sitio Kasanta Soong yesterday, all was quiet.
“Wala gyud ko kahibalo nga nadag-an diay ning lotto outlet diri(I never knew this outlet produced a winner),” said Nene Egar, a 46-year-old Soong resident, who’s been betting on Lotto for more than a year with no luck.
Eddie Bacolod, a 50-year-old seaman from Mandaue City, was in Mactan looking for a wood carver when he passed by and bought a ticket. When told this was the source of the recent 6/55 lotto jackpot winner, he was surprised.
“Mao ba? Dinhi diay to gipalit iyang ticket?” (Really? This is where he bought his ticket?) Bacolod then bought additional tickets.
“Swerte man daw kuno ni basta nadag-an na,” he said.
It was the first jackpot customer for operator Leila Salutillo, who’s been running the five-year-old outlet with her husband as the family’s source of livelihood.
Selling Lotto tickets goes a long way in raising their four children, she said and replaced their old business of selling beer and softrdinks. Since the outlet is attached to their house along the road, they save on rental costs. The location is not a prime spot like those of competitors near the public market or in the city center.
“Maybe if more people know about my Lotto outlet, more would come here to buy,” she said.
Lelia said she could not remember the customer who bought the lucky ticket, or whether the winner comes from Lapu-Lapu or was just visiting. She said 64 bets were placed for the 6/55 Lotto in her outlet last Saturday or 470 bets for all, including Swertres Lotto.
By policy, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office does not reveal the identity of the jackpot winners for security reasons. /Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza