The winner of the Euro Millions in Revel (Haute Garonne) wishes to remain anonymous. In the small town (population 9,600), everyone is wondering who it could possibly be.
The speculation is at fever pitch in particular at the “Goutard” tabac in the mediaeval town in the heart of rugby country in the South-West of France. It was here that the winning ticket was bought for the Euro Millions draw of the 21st of December. The little piece of paper is since worth exactly €101,835,641. The money has been claimed by the winner who picked up a cheque for that amount at the headquarters of La Française des Jeux in Boulogne-Billancourt outside Paris.
Although the winner wishes to remain unknown, tongues have been wagging at the “Goutard” ever since the news broke of the new multi-millionaire in their midst and the regular habits of the patrons have been peppered with conversations on the subject and with incessant phone calls from journalists.
“Everyone is trying to find out who it is,” says one worker at the tabac, while serving morning coffees to regulars. “Nobody has a clue really. And on the 21st, we sold a lot of tickets.” It’s the same story at the Town Hall, where mayor Alain Chatillon is suddenly in big demand.
We don’t know much about the winner of this huge prize who selected seven numbers (3, 5, 22, 40, 42, 3, 10) to become a millionaire but he did reveal to Lotto administrators La Française des Jeux that he has always played with the same numbers since the Euro Millions began back in 2004. But on this occasion, when selecting his numbers at the bar, he also played an extra line of randomly-selected numbers which proved to be lucky for him. He admits not having had a sleepless night, “working out all night what I could do with this amount of money”. His win makes him the third-richest Euro Millions lotto winner in France. The biggest jackpot was €169 million pocketed by a winner in the Alpes-Maritimes.
As regards his personal particulars, we know that he is a family man. His huge prize is not subject to income tax and he has indicated that he does not wish to leave the Toulouse area.