Our newspaper reported yesterday on the exciting news of a lottery player from Anqing City winning the largest prize in Anhui Sports Lottery history, sparking much curiosity among readers: Who is the winner? How did they win? Yesterday, our reporter traveled to Anqing to uncover the truth. However, as of the time this report was filed, the lucky winner had not yet come forward. It is rumored that the winner may be a middle-aged man who spent 4040 yuan to win a staggering 50.5 million yuan jackpot.
### A Ten-Minute Millionaire
The 50.5 million yuan grand prize set a new record for the largest lottery prize in our province's history and also refreshed the national record for the "Pailie Wu" game. According to data from the provincial sports lottery center's computer system, the winning ticket was purchased between 4:50 PM and 5:00 PM on August 31st.
It is reported that at the time, a sports lottery sales outlet in Anqing with the number 14084 saw many small combination tickets for both "Pailie Wu" and "Pailie San." These tickets were not only bought consecutively but also shared the same numbers and face value amounts. Later results confirmed that these were indeed the tickets that won the 50.5 million yuan grand prize. Additionally, this outlet also produced a 1.06 million yuan "Pailie San" grand prize.
It is speculated that all these prizes were won by one individual, likely accumulated through five 99-times tickets and two 5-times tickets for "Pailie Wu." The single-note prize for "Pailie Wu" is 100,000 yuan, and a single combination ticket can be purchased up to 99 times. The 1.06 million yuan "Pailie San" grand prize might have been accumulated from 1060 notes of 1000-yuan "Pailie San" prizes.
### Lottery Tickets in High Demand
So, who is this lucky winner? Yesterday, our reporter visited the lottery sales outlet where the win occurred to find out more. This lottery sales point is located within Dierlang Alley in Anqing City, in a bustling area. At the sales point, we found that a congratulatory notice titled "Warm Congratulations to Our Station's Lottery Player Winning a 50.5 Million Yuan Grand Prize" had already been posted inside the store. The owner of the sports lottery sales outlet, Xia Zemin, was still visibly excited.
"I never thought such a big prize could be born here," Xia Zemin said. On the evening of August 31st, after seeing the results, he felt that the winning numbers seemed familiar. The next morning, he eagerly turned on the sports lottery sales terminal machine, and the information displayed there confirmed his guess — the winning ticket really came from his sales point. After the news spread, many neighbors and veteran lottery players came over, sparking lively discussions. Some lottery players hoped to catch some of the winner's luck and placed their bets enthusiastically. "Today, we've sold more lottery tickets than usual."
### The Winner May Be a Middle-Aged Man
"The winner might be a middle-aged man," recalled Xia Zemin after calming down. He recounted the day's lottery sales situation. Around 5 PM that afternoon, this lottery player came to the outlet and made a bold purchase, buying over 5000 yuan worth of "Pailie Wu" and "Pailie San" small combination tickets. The numbers he bought likely included the winning combination "45169."
Xia Zemin said that this person was a veteran lottery player, with a rather serious demeanor, and based on his clothing, he probably worked in business. This lottery player often visited his outlet to buy tickets, usually spending several thousand yuan each time, and had won many smaller prizes. What left a deep impression on Xia Zemin was that this player was quite accurate when selecting the first three digits of "Pailie Wu" numbers. Xia had once suggested that this player buy combination tickets and select more numbers for the last two digits.
"This time, if it really was him who won the 50.5 million yuan grand prize, I should take some credit too," Xia Zemin proudly said. However, he also expressed a bit of regret, saying, "If only I had followed him and bought a few notes myself." Xia Zemin speculated that the 1.06 million yuan "Pailie San" grand prize from his outlet might also belong to this player.
(Reported by Hu Xiali, our newspaper correspondent)