After 39 draws, Vietnam’s new lottery finally has first jackpot winner

Vietnam is celebrating the first ever jackpot winner of the country’s new computerized lottery.

In July, Malaysia’s Berjaya Corp and Vietnam’s state-run lottery firm Vietlott launched the new Mega 6/45 lottery product in Vietnam. But despite holding three draws per week, the jackpot went 39 straight draws without a big winner, generating both anticipation and frustration among lottery players.

But that losing streak ended on Sunday, after a farmer in Tra Vinh province found himself holding a ticket bearing all six lucky numbers. By that point, the original prize of VND 12b (US $536k) had swollen to just over VND 92b, or around $4.11m.

Tuoi Tre News reported that the lucky farmer claimed he bought the winning ticket – for the list price of VND 10k (45¢) – on his way home from work on Sunday morning, then discovered his windfall while watching the televised draw with his family over Sunday dinner. The eager farmer chucked his fork and went to claim his prize at Vietlott’s HQ that same night.