ONCE lottery ticket seller Francisco José Rodríguez on the streets of Jimera de Líbar. KARL SMALLMAN

Lucky ONCE lottery ticket seller brings 280,000 euros of joy to Serranía de Ronda village

Eight residents of Jimera de Líbar struck lucky and there was also a win in Cortes de la Frontera, where Francisco José previously sold tickets that won 350,000 in prizes

VANESSA MELGAR

Ronda

Friday, 12 August 2022, 09:59 | Updated 12:24h.

ONCE lottery ticket seller Francisco José Rodríguez has once again delighted villagers in the Serranía de Ronda.

On Tuesday, 9 August, he sold winning tickets worth 280,000 euros on his usual route from his hometown of Cortes de la Frontera. He sold nine of the ten coupons, worth 35,000 euros each, in Jimera de Líbar and one in Cortes.

“I had a hunch that he was going to be handing out prizes and so it has been,” explained Ana María Rojo, his partner who speaks on behalf of Francisco as he is deaf and dumb.

He is one of the most-loved ONCE salesmen in the Serranía de Ronda. And 18 months ago he distributed winning tickets worth 350,000 euros among five Cortes inhabitants.

The latest happy winners are a pregnant woman in Jimera and a group of builders, among others.

Ana María said her partner was elated. “This morning I have hardly seen him, he came for breakfast and he was very nervous, in a hurry to be selling, [and] very happy”.

Francisco Javier Lobo, the mayor of Jimera, which has some 400 inhabitants, said: “The people are very happy”.

Most of the residents of the picturesque village, in the Guadiaro valley, regretted not having bought lottery tickets from the ever-smiling Francisco. "He says he's going to keep on giving out prizes," Ana María said of her partner.