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This morning I read astonishing news on the website of one of the Belgian newspapers. I click on these websites to keep up with the day to day things happening in my home country. The astonishing news was that Paris Hilton, the very famous and rich American girl, has missed lots of millions in the Italian lotto. Apparently, she had been playing on the Italian lotto with a couple of her friends, and she didn’t win! Wow! Well… I have news for you too! I have been playing on the Euromillions for four years now, and I have missed a lot of millions of euros as well!

About four years ago, the Euromillions came to Portugal, and as soon as I found out about that, I decided to gamble a little bit. Together with Jerry (my business partner) and Roland (a Belgian friend who happened to be visiting us that specific week), we decided to play together on a regular basis. In the early days, Corien, another Belgian friend participated as well. She played a couple of weeks together with us, until her husband found out about it, and he forbid her to risk the ten euros she was investing in the game on a weekly basis. He forbid her a lot of things, and as a result of all this, Corien left him and went back to Belgium. It still strikes me how many men turn out to be real assholes when they’ve been married for a couple of years…

Anyway, back to the Euromillions. As I said before, we haven’t won, yet. Although we have been playing each and every week, for a little over four years right now. For people living outside Europe, here’s a little explanation how the game has to be played: you have to choose five numbers out of fifty (1 - 50), combine these five with two “star-numbers” to be chosen out of nine (1- 9), and if your combination is picked by the computer on Friday evening, you win the jackpot. Each week, the jackpot contains a minimum sum of € 15.000.000,00! If nobody wins, this money is added to next week’s jackpot. Tonight, the draw is about € 28.000.000,00! Twenty Eight Million Euros!

The jackpot has been won by Portuguese people on a regular basis. Believe it or not, but it has been won twice by people playing in the same newspaper shop in a tiny little Portuguese village. This village happens to be Vila Nova de Cacela. Yes, it has been won twice in my village! And no, unfortunately, I was not one of these winners!

But why is this game so popular over here? Is it because of the culture in Southern Europe? When I look at the success of “El Gordo“, the famous Spanish lottery which is promoting the December draw again, with a jackpot of, believe it or not, € 2.380.000.000,00 (3.652 million US $), it could be one of the reasons. Maybe the poverty of the Portuguese people plays a role in the popularity of the Euromillions. Compared with other European countries, Portugal has got the lowest salaries in the European Union.

We know the chances of winning the jackpot are pretty low, but it gives us fun and pleasure, each and every week, to be able to brainstorm what we will do next week, once we have received the millions!

I believe the very first time Euromillions came to Portugal, the jackpot of more than twenty million euros was won by two Portuguese middle aged couples. They invited the press, and were having a big party. Less than six months later, one of the husbands was complaining in the Portuguese newspapers how his life had changed, and how he was regretting the fact to have won all that money. He even said he was going to give the majority of his money away to a church! What a fool.

Jerry, Roland and I know exactly what we are going to be doing with the € 28.000.000,00 that we are going to win tonight. And rest assured, we will not invite the press nor will we give our money to the church. At least, I will not give my part to the church. What Jerry and Roland decide to do, that’s going to be their responsibility!

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