News writer
Months after enduring a tragic summer of wildfires, residents of Leon, Spain, received a €728 million Christmas gift in the form of a Spanish national lottery win out of a €2.77 billion pot prize.
The jackpot will benefit residents of La Bañeza, Villablino, and La Pola de Gordón, three villages located in the Leon region that experienced devastating events in 2025.
The wildfires
In August 2025, extreme heat swept through Spain and Portugal, leading to uncontrollable wildfires that killed three people and displaced 8,000. The wildfires destroyed 136,000 acres of woodlands in temperatures that reached 108 degrees.
A fourth person died when a firefighting truck overturned on a road, according to the Guardian.
The wildfires directly hit the region of Leon. According to La Verdad, the town of La Bañeza was reduced to ashes.
Mining accident in Villablino
In March 2025, five local men from Villablino died, and four men were injured in a mining accident, according to the Associated Press. The deaths were caused by a machine explosion in a coal mine in Asturias.
Loss of the sugar factory
Another loss this year was the sugar factory of La Bañeza, which closed this year. It generated about 2,700 jobs in the region and was one of the economic drivers in the area, according to La Verdad.
Finally, a lucky break
Nothing can ever make up for the human losses suffered in Leon in 2025. Residents of Leon continue to grieve their loved ones and their former homes.
But villagers were given a lucky break when they won €728 million in Spain's Christmas Lottery "El Gordo" prize today. La Bañeza will receive €468 million.
The town's mayor, Javier Carrera, told the Guardian that the win caused “a cascade of emotions after such a terrible year”. He continued: “Winning the lottery, as well as cause for joy and excitement, is something that has fallen from the heavens to a place that needs so much.”
How Spain's Christmas Lottery works
Spain's national Christmas Lottery is different from a traditional American lottery or holiday raffle.
El Gordo (“the fat one”) spreads winnings across a wide span of players rather than a single jackpot winner.
The game uses 100,000 different numbers, with each number printed multiple times and sold to many participants. Each number appears in 198 separate series, and every series is divided into 10 equal parts known as décimos, or tenths. Residents usually buy décimos rather than numbers, and each décimo had a price of €20.
Ultimately, the same number is sold 1,980 times nationwide. Some sources say 75% of Spanish residents buy at least a ticket or a share of a ticket.
The lottery draw uses large drums to determine winning numbers and prize amounts. The larger drum contains 100,000 balls, each printed with a unique five-digit number ranging from 00000 to 99999. Every number sold in the lottery is represented in the drum, giving each ticket an equal chance of being selected for the top prize.
Children pick the numbers out of rotating globes during the Christmas draw. The game offered over €2.77 billion in prizes, with first prize per décimo being €400,000, the second prize €125,000, and the third prize €50,000.
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