MANILA, Philippines — The betting craze continues for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)’s online lottery draw Ultra Lotto 6/58 after nobody won the top prize last Sunday, pushing the jackpot to more than P1 billion in tonight’s draw.
There was no winner in Sunday night’s Ultra Lotto 6/58 draw with the winning number combination of 45-21-02-30-07-10 with a jackpot of P954,503,164.
Some 273 bettors got five of the six-digit winning combination and won a consolation prize of P46,890.
PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan said that the P1-billion jackpot is open to anyone above 18 years old, whether Filipino or foreigner.
“Even foreigners can win the jackpot prize if they bought a ticket as long as they are 18 years old and above, which is the age requirement, and as long the claimant has the winning ticket, he or she can take home the jackpot prize,” Balutan said in a statement.
He revealed that there are reports that even foreigners in the country were buying tickets, hoping to win the jackpot.
“Itong P1-billion jackpot prize ay napaka-historic sa PCSO, lahat, lalo na ‘yung mga tumataya eh excited, ‘di na mapakali, at gustung-gusto na talagang manalo. Whoever wins this prize will be the first-ever PCSO billionaire,” Balutan said.
Balutan assured the public that everyone has a fair chance of winning since all lottery games are drawn by machine. The agency implements strict procedures when it comes to the draw, making sure that the money or bets are really there.
“Whoever holds the winning ticket is the winner. So sign your winning lottery ticket immediately and take extra precautions. If you can take a photo and video of yourself with the winning ticket, do it. But don’t post it publicly for security reasons,” emphasized Balutan.
“I hope many bettors win so the jackpot will be distributed… P1 billion is so big, dizzying, so then many would be happy and with the growing jackpot the sales are increasing… a very big help to our Charity Fund. Hope someone gets lucky,” said Balutan.
So far, the biggest jackpot in the history of the PCSO was P741 million in the Grand Lotto 6/55, won by a Filipino-American who was on vacation here in the Philippines when he placed his bet at a lotto outlet in a duty-free shopping center in Olongapo City, Zambales on Nov. 29, 2010.
“A day before the draw, this 60-year-old Filipino male residing in New York bought the ticket at Royal Duty Free Mall in Olongapo. He got the right combination of 11-16-42-47-31-37. He claimed his prize in December that year,” Balutan shared.
The Ultra Lotto 6/58 jackpot was last won in February by two bettors who shared P331,971,464.
“Remember to place your bets on or before the draw, which is every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Keep your ticket/s in a safe place. You might not win the entire six digits, but you have a prize if you get five or three digits of the winning combination correctly,” reminded Balutan.
If by some stroke of luck, you really won the jackpot, the winner has to bring two valid identification cards. Show the winning ticket to the prize claim section of the Accounting and Budget Department of the PCSO.
After the ticket has been validated, the Treasury department will issue a check indicating the amount won with the winner’s name. The winner can then go to the Landbank of the Philippines to encash the check or he/she can open a bank account for security purposes.