On December 22, at 10:44 a.m., two girls from the San Ildefonso school sang the “Gordo” of the extraordinary Christmas draw, 79432, which took place in the Leonese villages of La Bañeza, Villablino and Villamanín, where luck had gone. … 730 million euros. The celebrations immediately multiplied, especially in Villamanín, since there the young people of the celebrations commission had divided the lot into 450 shares of five euros (four to play and one euro as a donation for the commission) which represented a prize of 80,000 euros per ballot, which corresponded to 100 tenths and approximately 36 million euros.
Joy overflowed in front of the town’s only bar, the Maison des Rétraités, champagne and anything that didn’t sparkle flowed everywhere and the members of the commission, almost all young people under 25, kept kissing and shouting with joy since the sale by participation meant that “it would have been the turn of the whole town”. “This year we will bring Rosalía for the holidays,” one of them said with excitement, while announcing that in 2026 they were going to “have the best parties in all of León.”
An unbridled joy which transformed in a few hours into uncertainty and even tragedy after learning that he had sold the commission. 50 ballots in a “lost” block that were not transmitted to lottery administrationthey were therefore not supported by the corresponding tenths, so there were four million euros of prizes that could not be collected, nor the rest of the remaining 32 million. until the situation is resolved.
And as when there are controversies around money, the division of neighbors over what happened quickly began to manifest itself on social networks, between those who defended that it was an error without bad faith and those who saw a lack of transparency and collusion, triggering the rumor. A situation which, as some neighbors say, “divided the city”while others recognize that “coexistence has been broken” and that the error of the young people of the commission has revived old neighborhood disputes, taking advantage of the opportunity to position themselves on one side or the other.
Even the mayor of Villamanín, Felix Álvaro Barreales Cansecolaments “the joy that lasts a short time in the poor man’s house”, illustrating the situation created, although he tries to stay out of it because he is also concerned and not a municipal problem. An advisor who hopes that everything can be resolved after the “agreement” reached last Friday during the meeting convened by the festival commission with the winners and which was under the watchful eye of a Civil Guard device to avoid altercations due to the accumulated tension.
The agreement was reached after four hours of meeting, with shouting, mood swings, many tears and even several anxiety attacks among the youngest members of the commission, who were even warned by one of the participants that they would go to prison and that they would have to cover with their assets the unguaranteed price in tenths.
The deal consists of deducting 10% of the price from each participation (80,000 euros)with the aim that everyone who acquired them can recover them. In addition, the tenths played by the commission itself, as well as their personal prizes, are made available to the rest of the winners, as they have already done, provided that no complaints are filed. However, the agreement does not have a signature or legal support and, although the majority of the winners accept it, it has already faced public opposition from some of the winners, given that these measures would only cover between 1.5 and 2 million of the 4 who are not supported by tenths, therefore The winners would ultimately have to accept a reduction in the price, the amount of which could be around 2,400 euros.
The most critical also say they do not trust the information provided by the commission on the prizes won by each of them. They denounced that “it’s a theft”and threatened to sue if they did not recover the full prize they were playing for. Without wanting to identify himself, one of the winners claims that “they are lying to us”, arguing the accusation in which the members of the commission declared having a lower number of participations than what they had publicly declared to the media on the day of the Lottery. While others, fewer in number, agree that “I don’t have to resolve a mistake that isn’t mine… what these people want is the collar and the dog.”
A position which contrasts with a majority more empathetic and committed to harmonyrecognizing that “these are children who made a mistake without any bad intention” and who made a tenth of the commission and their personal shares available to the rest of the winners: “They cannot do more”.
An opinion that supports Inmaculada Gutiérrezwhich emphasizes that “It’s true that there was a problem due to an unintentional error”while recalling that children “have always fought and worked for and for the people”. “I want to continue to come to the town so I advocate harmony and serenity”he declares with a sad face, while specifying that “on the 22nd, I had zero and that reducing the price a little so that everyone can collect it is not going to make me less happy”.
A position shared by many neighbors and which was appreciated by the commission itself, which, through a statement, publicly apologized to all those concerned, specifying that “there has never been any fraud or cheating”. “We can only say that the volunteers, almost all young people from the city, asked for help and we are excited by the response because many understood us and showed us their support,” they add.
They also convey that “we will even bear the loss of our own priceso that what began as a joy for the whole city continues to be so until the end, even if we have nothing left.
Likewise, they recommend “help each other, get paid as soon as possible, avoid lawsuits and don’t turn good news into conflict”for which we worked on a “fair, transparent agreement, with all legal guarantees, because it will benefit from judicial review, thinking about the common good and the future of the people”.
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