On December 22, the price Fat of the Lottery came across Villamanina small town of barely a thousand inhabitants located in Castile and León. Their neighbors’ party on the snowy sidewalks, with champagne in hand and Christmas decorations, was in the news; However, what seemed to be a joy for all the lucky ones resulted in a big conflict that divided the city.
It all started as almost all city lottery stories begin: with checkbooks in hand sell actions of number 79.432a young festival committee and a great desire to raise money for next summer’s festivals.
This joy was short-lived, since the commission mistakenly distributed 50 shares —5 euros; 4 were performed and 1 was reserved as a donation for the commission itself —out of the 450 they sold.
These additional entries were sold without being awarded the corresponding tenth winners, which represents a total of 4 million eurosno prize could therefore be collected because more entries had been sold than those actually awarded.
In an attempt to resolve the problem, late at night This Friday, a meeting took place In the Villamanín Retirement Home, which welcomed nearly 250 people.
A meeting that lasted four hours and during which screams were uttered and several anxiety attacks took place among some of the young people who make up the party committee and some even vomited because of the nervousness of having been involved in the controversy.
The following was proposed: the members of the commission who distributed the shares They will forfeit their prizes if other winners drop 10% of your profits and as long as there is no type of complaint.
The condition is imposed because simple resignation from the commission is not enough. This is why, in order for all those who have acquired shares to be able to recover them, it is necessaryextract this percentage from the price of each participation, which reaches 80,000 euros.
When all the winners have been able to collect the prize with this discount – until March 22 as the deadline – the festival commission, made up of eleven people, will make available to the rest of the winners the tenth that the commission itself has played, as well as their personal prizes.
The agreement, which has not yet been signed, was not accepted by everyone present, because even making these prizes available would only cover two of the four million prizes sold in shares. This is why the winners should ultimately assume a reduction in the winnings won in the Lottery, the final amount of which could be around 2,400 euros per participation.
The money must be deposited into court as soon as possible and a judge will oversee payment of the award, a process that could be delayed if legal action is ultimately filed. During the meeting it was noted that only two neighbors oppose the pact, faced with a majority which, even if some have a negative opinion of the commission, opted for a collective solution in order to lose as little as possible for Gordo.
The divided city
The most critical say they don’t trust the information provided by the commission about the awards each of them won, which is why they announced they would present a Complain if they aren’t paid in full of the price for which they were playing.
“The one who has to correct the mistakes is the one who makes them and then we help them, but they want the collar and the dog. Let the commission provide the money and we all support them. I pay their tickets honestly and the money they are worth, they make fun of us across the street,” said a neighbor who preferred not to give her name.
In addition, others were more empathetic recognizing that “they are children who made a mistake without any bad intention” and recalled that they made the tenth of the commission itself and their personal shares available to the rest of the winners. “They cannot do more,” they say in statements to EFE.
As reported by Ical Agencyaround 300 participants attended, who heard first-hand the explanations of the festival commission, which until then had not wanted to comment on the subject.
“They don’t talk to us, they don’t talk to the press either and they force us to think that they are cheating, because if I have something legal, I say that I would have spoken clearly from the beginning,” we heard at the doors of the Villamanín retirement home, where the meeting is being held. “Would you like to put your hand in the fire?”» They asked at the bar counter.
Inmaculada Gutiérrez expressed the contrary opinion in statements to Icalconvinced that “There was an unintentional error”for which he advocates “concord and solidarity”.
The most cautious recalled that on the 21st no one had anything and “if we won the prize, it was thanks to the commission”, they were therefore more lenient in the search for a consensual agreement.
Thus, the small Leonese town passed From euphoria to neighborhood division between those who support young people, some of whom are minors, and those who only see lies and “a lack of total transparency”, as another winner criticized.
Commission statement
For its part, after the meeting, the commission issued a official statement given the refusal to make statements to the media due to the accumulated tension in which he recognizes the serious consequences of incorrect counting of ballots.
“SO, We apologize to everyone affectedbut we want to make it very clear that there was never any fraud or cheating,” they explained.
“We can only say that the volunteers, almost all young people from the city, asked the city for help for this meeting and we are enthusiastic about the response. The majority of participants understood us and even showed their support,” they added.
Considering the situation created, they stated that They will even assume the loss of their own prize so that what began as a joy for the whole city may be so until the end, even if they end up with nothing.
Likewise, they welcomed the fact that a large majority of share holders understood that the best solution is to “help each other, get paid as quickly as possible, avoid lawsuits and not turn good news into conflict”, for which they are working on a “fair, transparent agreement and with all legal guaranteessince it will benefit from judicial review, thinking of the common good and the future of the people,” the press release concludes.
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