Mexico's millionaire making jet 'raffle'
Mexico is making millionaires, thanks to its national lottery, with some extra big prizes on offer.
Tuesday’s (September 15) prize draw was set to create 100 millionaires following a much-hyped raffle, with the government also throwing in its luxury presidential jet for good measure.
Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador explained how the lottery and plane raffle was generating necessary funds for the country’s underfunded medical services.
"We are going to have more than two billion pesos to complete the purchase of (medical) equipment, and we have the plane that is going to be sold for more than two billion pesos ($94,531,000 USD). This money will be used for the purchase of medical equipment. That is, the plane will leave us with more than four billion pesos ($189,072,000 USD)."
Mexico has previously struggled to find a buyer for the jet, which had been viewed as a symbol of the corrupt excesses by some presidential predecessors.
The draw was made during an elaborate ceremony, shown live on television as part of independence day festivities.
Out of 6 million tickets offered, 100 winners were set to claim 20 million pesos each, or just under $1 million US dollars.
A flurry of late ticket buying let to long lines at lottery booths, with authorities not immediately announcing the names of any winners.
