Spain: The sweet Christmas story of this former immigrant who won the lottery jackpot
Two residents of Olot (Catalonia) won 125 thousand euros each during the famous Christmas lottery that impressed the whole of Spain. Someone’s track caught attention.
On Thursday, December 22nd, no less than €2.7 billion is at risk during Gordo, the famous Spanish lottery that keeps an entire country from living for a few hours. And for good reason, here, not a single jackpot is at stake but tenths of the ticket itself allowing the luckiest to win up to several hundred thousand euros.
And every year, the winners come from all over Spain and are celebrated immediately after the charming, old-fashioned drawing.
On Thursday, Catalonia won more than 156 million euros in total, in particular, the Gordo Prize, the Grand Prix, which fell in Barcelona and the rain of millions that fell on Puigcerdà near the French border. But it was the winner of a part of the second batch, a resident of Olot, in the heart of the Catalan volcanoes, who caught the eye.
He was playing for the first time
Ibrahim and his friend Modi had already bought, two days earlier, one of the tickets No. 0474. Ibrahim’s first Christmas lottery participation, his friend encourages him to play, which turns out to be a masterstroke as they both win €125,000 each.
An unexpected sum for two from Gambia. Modi arrived in Spain at the age of 12, and he is currently unemployed, and he sees an opportunity to “provide for the needs of his family” as he explained to the journalists present in large numbers in front of the Olot point of sale where he has lived for 30 years.
Long trip to Olot
Brahim Kante, recently arrived in Spain. After spending part of his adolescence in Mali, he took the road to Europe “by bus” via “Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco and then Libya”.
Like most migrants, he arrived in Italy by sea before finding refuge in Olot, Catalonia, in 2017. All after a ten-year long journey.
Ibrahim, 27, is married to a Gambian from Olot, and holds his official papers. After leaving Africa, he wanted to “improve his life.” His lottery success would allow him to do just that while finally helping him launch his dream singing career.
“Unapologetic pop culture trailblazer. Freelance troublemaker. Food guru. Alcohol fanatic. Gamer. Explorer. Thinker.”