Estepona lottery seller sells €500,000 winning coupon, but doesn’t know who to

Estepona has become the centre of happy celebration after a ONCE lottery coupon sold in the town scooped a whopping €500,000 prize. Dedicated ONCE seller Rosario Tornay sold the winning ticket, purchased via card terminal, from her stand on Avenida Juan Carlos, where she has worked since 2018. The coupon left Tornay’s hands, unaware of who actually holds it and leaving her desperate to know who has scooped the wonderful life-changing prize.

All five digits plus the series number

Thursday’s draw, held on Thursday, July 2 featured Soria’s historic Alameda de Cervantes park as its themed design. ONCE dedicates each daily coupon to a different Spanish landmark, town or cultural site. The luck filled day rewarded the ticket-holder for not only matching all five digits but also the series number, boosting the payout to the maximum amount of €500,000.

Seller overwhelmed by big win

“I thought last night the number looked familiar, but I never imagined it could actually win,” Tornay admitted, still struggling to take in the news. “I still can’t quite believe it, I need to find out who’s won.”

Describing her connection with regular customers, she said the win feels personal. “People are part of my daily life, that’s what this job is about. So when one of them wins, you really feel it as your own.” She added that she’s looking forward to celebrating with the winner once they come forward.

Local residents react on Facebook

News of the win prompted a flurry of comments on ONCE Andalucia’s Facebook page. One local wished Tornay well, writing: “Congratulations to the lucky winner, keep the streak going and hand out plenty more prizes, let’s see if the rest of us get lucky too.”
Another commenter, praised Tornay’s role in the win: “Luck smiles on those who work for it, and in this case ONCE has rewarded your good work. I hope they remember you, since you’re the one who brought them the luck.”

Other prizes land across Andalucia and the Canary Islands

Thursday’s draw did not stop there, further rewards of €35,000 were distributed in Huelva, Siles and Fuengirola, with remaining prizes going to winners in the Canary Islands.

ONCE has reiterated that its lottery products form part of a responsible gaming scheme, incorporating safeguards from design through to sale, including a strict ban on selling tickets to minors and on credit-based purchases.