80-year-old ex-gov’t employee wins P27.6 Megalotto jackpot

MANILA, Philippines—It was a retirement fund he didn’t have to work decades for.

By a stroke of sheer luck, an 80-year-old former government employee won last Monday night’s 6/45 Megalotto jackpot of P27,587,136.60.

The male bettor from Cebu came to the PCSO office at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Wednesday afternoon to claim his prize.

According to PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas, the winner, a regular bettor since 1996, correctly guessed the winning combination of 22-04-03-06-32-30.

“He placed a P40 bet – P20 for a lucky pick combination and the other P20 using important dates he chose, including his birth date and his wife’s. The second combination hit the jackpot,” the PCSO official said.

Rojas added that the retired government employee, the 29th jackpot prizewinner for this year, did not say what he planned to do with his newfound wealth.

Among those who became instant millionaires this year included a victim of an illegal recruiter who won Lotto 6/42’s P3,464,092 jackpot draw last Jan. 25; and a 44-year-old man from Batangas province who, after 16 years of placing bets, bagged the 6/45 Megalotto jackpot prize of P24,589,191.60 during last Valentine’s Day draw.