The $151 million jackpot will be divided among more than 100 residents of the small town.
The lottery is always a long shot, but by pooling your efforts with coworkers, friends, or family, you can improve your chances of success.
In a lottery pool, each participant contributes a set sum of money, and if someone wins, the prize is divided equally among all of the participants. If the bet pays off, it’s a good deal as you still profit if someone else in the group wins even if your ticket doesn’t.
Everyone reluctantly reports to work the following day knowing their lives will remain the same because, for the most part, nobody in the pool wins. However, a group of 165 people just struck it rich in a tiny Belgian town with a population of fewer than 4,000.
Of course, there are very little possibilities of winning the lottery. In America, there is a one in 292 million chance of winning the Powerball jackpot, and a one in 302 million chance of winning the Mega Millions jackpot. Even though the chances of winning the EuroMillions are around 1 in 139.8 million, the odds appear a little better in Europe, so the fact that this group of people won is remarkable.
Local businessman Wim Van Broekhoven often held lottery pools for the community, with each participant contributing 15 euros, or about $16. This time, the lottery bet paid off because a sizable portion of the community participated and won the 142.9 million euro ($151.8 million) EuroMillions jackpot together. The people are undoubtedly happy to have won such a sizable sum of money that came as a surprise.
According to Van Broekhoven, it appears that the majority of the winners have already made arrangements for their winnings. The winners come from many walks of life, but regardless, everyone could use the money, particularly with the holidays approaching and the current energy crisis.
It’s comforting to learn that when someone inherits that much money, they really need it. Yet, unless you’re at the top of the list of millionaires, couldn’t pretty much everyone use an extra $956,000? This Christmas, I have a hunch that Sinterklaas will be especially generous in that small Belgian village.