Millions were lining up this weekend to purchase tickets — driven by at least a million dreams — at lotto outlets nationwide to try their luck.
One of them is 60-year-old Isabel Reodique, of Meycauayan, Bulacan, who sees to it that she makes her bet for the jackpot prize.
"Baka sakaling manalo. Mura lang naman ang (lotto) ticket, pwede ng ipagsapalaran (I might happen to win. The ticket is cheap, I can take it to chance)," she told The STAR.
Reodique admitted she only plays the lotto when the jackpot prize is big. Often, her chosen numbers are the combinations of the birthdates of her family members.
"Pero minsan kung ano lang amg maisipan kong numbers. Hindi ako nag-aalaga (But sometimes I bet whatever comes into my mind. I don’t have particular combinations)," she said.
Winning tickets must match the combination of six numbers drawn on television tonight. The "6/49 Super Lotto," which has a minimum guaranteed jackpot prize of P8 million, is drawn on Thursdays and Sundays. Each ticket is worth P10 and unless there’s a winner, the prize builds up until someone wins.
According to PCSO chairman Sergio Valencia, his "calculated guess" is that the jackpot prize will reach close to P140 million because of the huge number of people betting this week.
"Nobody won the P128-million jackpot prize (last Thursday). So by tomorrow, maybe we’ll hit P140 (million). I’m trying to make a prediction based on the number of people who are buying tickets," he noted.
Valencia claimed the biggest take was registered three years ago at P202 million but this pot was shared by six people who bet on the same combination.
Lotto prizes represent 55 percent of the net receipts of tickets sold and printing costs of such tickets, 30 percent is earmarked as contributions to the PCSO’s charity fund while the remaining 15 percent is spent for the operating and capital expenditures of the agency.
"The higher the prizes, the more people start buying tickets… Even those who do not regularly buy tickets, you will now see them lining up to lotto outlets," he added.
PCSO director Manuel Morato said the government-run lotto has become wildly popular among Filipinos because of the instant affluence that it promises — if you’re lucky, that is.
But aside from making winners rich, PCSO helps many other people through its charitable works.
"We have a lot of charities, it’s not only the prizes. We buy ambulances, medical equipments and more. We help in the hospitalization (of people) and we make donations," he added.