Estepona lottery seller sells €500,000 winning coupon, but doesn’t know who to

Estepona has become the centre of happy celebration after a ONCE lottery coupon sold in the town scooped a whopping €500,000 prize. Rosario Tornay, a dedicated ONCE seller, sold the winning ticket purchased through a card terminal from her stand in Avenida Juan Carlos where she has been working since 2018. Tornay was unaware who held the coupon when it left her hands. She became desperate to find out who won this life-changing prize.

The series number plus all five digits

The theme of the Thursday draw held on July 2, featured Soria’s historic Alameda de Cervantes Park. Each daily coupon is dedicated to a unique Spanish landmark, city or cultural site. The luck filled day rewarded the ticket-holder for not only matching all five digits but also the series number, boosting the payout to the maximum amount of €500,000.

Sellers overwhelmed by huge win

Tornay admits, struggling to absorb the news. “I thought yesterday the number looked familiar. But I never imagined it would actually win,” Tornay said. “I’m still not sure, I’m waiting to see who won.”

She said that the victory felt personal because of her relationship with regular customers. The job involves people every day. When one of them wins you feel like it’s yours. She also said she was looking forwards to celebrating with her winner as soon as they come forward.

Local residents respond on Facebook

The news of the victory prompted a flood of comments to ONCE Andalucia’s Facebook page. Tornay’s locals wished Tornay luck, writing “Congratulations! Keep up the streak and keep giving out prizes. Let’s hope the rest of us are lucky, too.”
Tornay was praised by another commenter for his role in the victory: “Luck smiles upon those who work hard, and this time, ONCE has rewarded you for your good work.” I hope that they will remember you because you are the one who brought the good luck to them.

Andalucia, the Canary Islands and other prized land

Thursday’s draw did not stop there, further rewards of €35,000 were distributed in Huelva, Siles and Fuengirola, with remaining prizes going to winners in the Canary Islands.

ONCE has reaffirmed that its lotteries are part of an initiative to promote responsible gaming. The scheme includes safeguards, from the design phase through to the sale stage, such as a prohibition on selling tickets to children and credit-based purchases.