Fuengirola wins over 1.8 million euros from Once's Sueldazo draw ahead of Spain's World Cup victory

The Once lottery weekend draw distributed over 1.8 million euros in Fuengirola on Sunday, coinciding with Spain's victory in the World Cup.

The winning ticket is worth 300,000 euros in cash plus 5,000 euros per months for 20 years, totalling 1.5 million euros.

Another 16 tickets won 20,000 euros each, adding another 320,000 euros to the top prizes, reaching a total of 1,820,000 euros.

Once worker Manuel González sold the winning ticket on Avenida Santa Amalia, next to the central mosque in the Costa del Sol town.

"While Spain was winning the World Cup, the calls started coming in and I couldn't watch the match," he said, happy to have missed those final minutes of glory for Luis de la Fuente's team for such a significant and fortunate reason.

"I'm really happy. When you start working for Once, what you want is to give out prizes. When that day comes, you feel a strange sensation, because even though it wasn't you who won, it feels like it was," he said.

"It's the joy of knowing you've brought happiness to so many families. This has been like a World Cup goal, a perfect night."

Before joining Once, Manuel was a flamenco singer, but a heart condition led him down a very different path. "Once has completely transformed my life. I'm very, very, very happy with everyone here. I enjoy my work. Interacting with people is what I love the most. That's what I've always been passionate about and, on top of that, I get to give out awards," he said.

Sunday's Once lottery draw, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Ágora programme of the Once Latin America foundation, awarded another top prize of 2,000 euros per month for ten years, totalling 240,000 euros, at La Antilla beach, on the Huelva coast. The remaining prizes went to the Canary Islands, Catalonia and the Basque Country.

The Once weekend draw offers a top prize of 300,000 euros plus 5,000 per month for 20 consecutive years to a single winning ticket. The draw takes place every Saturday and Sunday. There are also prizes of 2,000 euros per month for ten consecutive years for four other winning tickets.

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