Spain's huge El Gordo Christmas lottery jackpot finally drawn

Millions of Spaniards needed a lot of luck and a lot of patience this year when the lucky numbers for the El Gordo jackpot were drawn in the country's Christmas lottery on Friday.

The main prize – El Gordo (the fat one) – from which the lottery takes its name is €4 million ($4.4 million).

The jackpot was only drawn at the very end of the more than 4-hour event, Spanish media wrote.

But the wait was worth it for the lucky holders of tickets with the number 88008. They will claim a share of the €4 million prize money, minus tax.

For a €20 ticket, the lucky winners are entitled to €400,000 - or about €328,000 after a 20% tax deduction.

The El Gordo ritual is an annual event that proceeds according to an established pattern in a live broadcast with every last detail shown.

This year's live draw began at 9 am (0800 GMT) on Friday from Madrid's Teatro Real.

Pupils from the Ildefonso school sang out the ticket numbers and the corresponding prize amounts, as they do every year on December 22.

The numbers are drawn from two large golden see-through spheres: One contains 100,000 small wooden balls with the five-digit lottery numbers, while the other contains 1,807 balls with the prizes printed on them.

A ball then drops simultaneously from each sphere and it wasn't until 1:15 pm that a little boy called out the main prize.

Many prizes are awarded in the lottery, which dates back more than 200 years.

As most people buy a tenth of a ticket for €20, the top prizes tend to amount to €400, minus the 20% tax, meaning the big winner is the state.

In total, there were tickets worth €3.7 billion and almost €2.6 billion are to be paid out in winnings this year.