A record EuroMillions jackpot of €220 million has been won by a player in France in the draw of October 15th, 2021. The winning numbers were 21, 26, 31, 34, 49 and Lucky Stars 2 and 5. Two weeks after the win was annoynced, the lucky winner claimed the prize: a young woman from Tahiti, in French Polynesia, who decided to remain anonymous.
How did the jackpot get to this height?
This record jackpot’s story starts in September, when a special draw called EuroMillions Superdraw took place. This way, the EuroMillions draw of September 24th was displaying a guaranteed jackpot of €130 million. As the initial SuperDraw (or the following ones) did not have any winner, the top prize kept pushing up to its maximum amount. In just over a fortnight and a total of 6 rollover, the EuroMillions was displaying a jackpot of €220 million, which was also the cap of the EuroMillions’ top prize at that time. This was the amount a lucky French ticket holder won in the draw of October 15th, 2021.
Who won this record jackpot?
This life-changing prize went to Tahiti, in French Polynesia. The lucky winner is a young woman who decided not to disclose her identity to the public. She beat the odds of 1 in 139,838,160, as she had always felt she would. Watching her grandfather play the lottery on a regular basis, she kept telling him that she will for sure win once, when she decides to play. Eventually, she decided to play and she proved herself right: Lady Luck was there waiting for her! A Quick Pick ticket brought her a mouth-watering jackpot from the first attempt.
The lucky winner used less than 20 out of the 60 days she had to report to the FDJ (the French official lottery operator) to claim her prize. The young Polynesian talked about switching hiding places for her winning ticket after finding out she matched the winning numbers. “I often changed the place of the ticket: first under my bed, then among my clothes … Finally, I was afraid of forgetting where I had put it”.
After pocketing this jaw-dropping amount, the new multi-millionaire could afford to buy 9 Rolls-Royce Boat Tail (the most expensive car in the world). Or, they could opt for the exceptional 95.2 meters long Kismet yacht, which is worth an estimated $200 million. Other suggestions include 1.8 tonnes of premium Beluga caviar, or, for a safe bet, 4,429 bars of gold (which means over 4.4 tons of gold). Although they won’t have to work another they in their life, the lucky winner cannot afford everything: the PSG player Kylian Mbappé, whose net value was evaluated at €225 million, is a bit too expensive for them.
But will the lucky Tahitian do any of the above? Not if we believe her words. When claiming the prize, she spoke about traveling the world with her family, discovering the snow, investing in worthy causes and building her own business.
This was not the first time a record jackpot went to France. The EuroMillions draw of December 11th, 2020 was bringing a €200 million EuroMillions jackpot to France. It took less than an year for another French ticket holder to scoop another and even larger EuroMillions jackpot. Interviewed by Le Parisien, this lucky retired executive from the South of France warned the new winner that life after winning the lottery is halfway between small pleasures and new problems to manage:
My everyday life is same. Of course, I have new obligations, I have to deal with a lot of things. At first, it is overwhelming (…). I made sure my loved ones are taken care of. (…) I also did some work in my house and bought an apartment in Paris so that we can enjoy the city whenever we want. (…) Thanks to this win, I have the opportunity to help those who need it. This is my main joy! (…) I had several travel adventures in France (and) distant destinations, I am still waiting a bit, but I really want to travel.
Le Parisien
On the other side, the EuroMillions lottery will increase its cap to €230 million. According to the changing of rules from 2020, the EuroMillions jackpot cap will gradually grow by €10 million each time the cap is reached, until a threshold of €250 million is reached. The previous jackpot cap of €210 million was changed when a Swiss player won this mouth-watering prize in February 2021. With a new SuperDraw on the way, it is reasonable to expect a new record jackpot and a new cap even before the end of 2021. So, make sure you keep playing so you have your chance of being the next record jackpot winner.