The first-prize winner of the 57th round of Spito 2000. - Photo: DongHang Lottery
SEOUL: Two co-workers in South Korea’s Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi province, each won one billion won (US$689,000) within minutes of each other, splitting a two-ticket jackpot, a lottery firm said on Thursday (Dec 19).
After the first person saw that he had won, he told his colleague to immediately buy the next ticket from the same store, which also turned out to be a winner.
Their extraordinary stroke of luck came with the Spito 2000, a scratch-off lottery that allows players to instantly verify their prize.
The jackpot is awarded via two tickets printed consecutively, worth one billion won each. The odds of winning the one billion won prize are one in five million.
The first winner scratched his ticket at a lottery store near his workplace and, realising he had won, told his colleague to purchase the next ticket, which turned out to be the other half of the winning combo.
“When I scratched the ticket and realised I had won, I was shocked,” the first winner said in an interview with DongHang Lottery.
“I hurried my colleague to buy the next ticket because Spito 2000’s one billion won prizes are printed consecutively. I feel so happy that we both won.”
The first winner said he plans to pay off his mortgage and save for a home with his winnings. - The Korea Herald/ANN
