Market vendor, Marian devotee split P134-M jackpot

The woman bettor apparently relied mainly on luck. The other bettor, a man, banked on his faith in the Virgin Mary.

Whatever were the sources of their inspiration, the 47-year-old woman vendor from Taytay, Rizal province, and the man in his 60s ended up sharing Monday night’s Grand Lotto jackpot of P134.6 million.

The two unidentified bettors correctly picked the winning number combination of  01-03-11-27-49-55, one of the biggest lotto prizes awarded by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) this year.

The woman bettor, however, ended up with a little bit more money by using the so-called System 5R in placing her bet. She took home a total of  P74.7 million for using that system, while the male winner, who used the usual system of betting on a six-number combination, collected P67.3 million.

PCSO General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II said the woman and her husband found it hard to fall asleep after Monday’s draw, unable to believe that they had just become millionaires.

Ways of betting

“They even bought a lot of newspapers [the next day] to check the winning combination,” Rojas said. “That’s when they realized they won the lotto draw.”

The woman, who has three children, intends to use part of her winnings to buy the market stall she has been renting for some time, said Rojas, who interviewed the woman when she claimed her prize.

The woman used two ways of betting—System 5R and the System 8.

In  System 5R of the Grand Lotto draw, a bettor picks only five numbers and—for the sixth digit—pairs these off with each of the remaining 50 numbers. Tickets for that kind of bet cost P1,000.

On the other hand, a System 8 bet pertains to a selection of eight numbers where a total of 28 possible combinations could be drawn. A ticket for this system of betting costs P560 each.

Answer to prayers

By using the System 5R, the woman won an extra P7 million, boosting her total Grand Lotto winnings to P74.7 million.  She also got an extra P500,000, a major prize for winning through the System 8 method.

For the other winner, a married man, winning Monday night’s lotto was an answer to his prayers.

Rojas said the man, who had been betting for the past seven years, relied on prayers to the image of the Our Lady of Fatima, which was being passed around his neighborhood every day.

The Virgin’s icon stayed in the man’s house in Makati City for a day before it was passed on to the next family, Rojas said.

The man placed a P60 bet on three six-number combinations, choosing numbers that were relevant to his family, like the birthdays and ages of family members.

Bought in Pasay

Both winners bought their tickets in Pasay City, according to Rojas. He would not say if they bought their tickets from the same lotto outlet.

Rojas, who personally handed the checks to the winners, said he advised them to be cautious in spending their winnings and to seek financial advice from a bank.

He also urged them to give a portion of their prizes to charity—and to keep on saving for a rainy day.

In June, a village watchman from Las Piñas City won P365 million in the 6/55 Grand Lotto draw. In August, a Luzon bettor won the P142.8-million jackpot also in the 6/55 draw.

The biggest prize in Philippine lotto history, a Grand Lotto jackpot of P729 million, was won a year ago by  a visiting Filipino-American doctor. With a report from Inquirer Research