$3 million richer: Vietnam has third jackpot winner in a month

By VnExpress   November 13, 2016 | 07:04 am PT
It was the third win in less than four weeks.

Vietlott, the operator of an American-style lottery game, on Sunday said that the top prize of VND71 billion ($3.18 million) has found a winner, the third in less than four weeks.

The state-run company said 11-23-25-34-36-45 were the lucky numbers for the 51st draw of the Mega 6/45.

For months the company had not announced any top prize winner, until a family from the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh won the first jackpot of VND92.03 billion ($4.04 million), the biggest lottery prize ever claimed in Vietnam, on October 16.

Nguyen Quoc Thai, 58, attended a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City, wearing a mask, to collect the prize on behalf of his daughter.

This first win served as great publicity for Vietlott, which said ticket sales soared in the following week, including a 230 percent jump in Ho Chi Minh City.

The second winner of nearly $2.9 million was announced on November 2. His identity has not been revealed, but it’s believed that the man is from the southern Dong Nai Province.

The new winner now has 60 days to come forward and claim the prize and will have to pay a 10 percent income tax.

Vietnam bans gambling among its citizens but lottery tickets are popular nationwide.

Vietlott, or Vietnam Computerized Lottery One Member Limited Liability Company, in January signed an exclusive 18-year contract with Malaysian conglomerate Berjaya to launch computerized lottery games.

The Mega 6/45 is the company’s first foray into the market. In the game, players select six numbers from 1 to 45 and win the jackpot, starting at VND12 billion ($538,000), by matching all six winning numbers from the draw. Each ticket costs VND10,000 (40 cents).

The jackpot prize will keep growing with time and with more players, until there is a winner. The odds of winning are extremely low, believed to be around one in 8.14 million.

Traditional lottery tickets in Vietnam have predetermined numbers printed on them, with the highest prize set at VND1.5 billion ($65,900).

Facing tough competition from Vietlott’s Mega game, the companies behind these traditional tickets have decided to raise the top prize by 33 percent to VND2 billion, starting next year.

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