Lottery Nicaragua Announces The Big One!
You will probably have heard the shout go out by a passing street vendor or as you walked through town a vendor has startled you with a loud “LLLLOTERÍA” and waved a fistful of lottery tickets at you.
Well, this Christmas, the National Lottery of Nicaragua is promoting the big one; the “Tinajón Navideño” (Christmas Jar) with a massive 45 Million Córdoba first prize to be drawn on December 23rd.
At today’s exchange rate it’s worth well over US $ 1.25 million (US $ 1,277,700 to be more precise).
Trivia: A Tinajón or Tinaja is a rough earthenware pot belly vessel that was used for rainwater collecting, storage and carrying and are still bought as garden or patio ornaments.
The format of the weekly National Lottery is that for each campaign, numbered tickets are sold for a draw, usually on Tuesday night.
Each 5 digit numbered ticket, “Billete Entero” (whole ticket) is made up of 20 shares or smaller tickets (all with the same 5 digit number). You can buy any number of shares from just one small ticket (a 20th share) up to the whole ticket, all 20.
Vendors will tear off your individual tickets which when the prize is smaller (usually 8 to 10 million Córdobas) are priced at 30 Córdobas for each share of the ticket (600 Córdobas for the whole ticket).
If your 5 digit number comes up, you win the portion of that entire ticket that you purchased, anywhere from 1 to 20, therefore, to win the entire main prize or the full amount of any of the many smaller prizes, you need to have purchased the whole ticket of 20 shares.
For the “Tinajón Navideño” this year, the cost of the whole ticket (Billete Entero) is 3,000 Córdobas and each share (a 20th) is 150 Córdobas.
As well as the main prize of 45 million Córdobas, there will be two second prizes of 1.6 million Córdobas and two third prizes of 800,000 Córdobas.
The total prize money of the “Tinajón Navideño” will amount to 97.5 million Córdobas to be awarded among all of the Lottery winners.
Profits from the National Lottery of Nicaragua are allocated to social and sports programs through the Ministry of the Family, Adolescents and Children (MIFAN) and the Nicaraguan Institute of Sports (IND).
See also; Loto Nicaragua – Canada Hands over Control to Private Sector
