 About
El Gordo
El Gordo is widely recognized as the biggest
and richest lottery in the world. Some of the things
that make it so special include:
- Only 2 big draws per year: July and December
- Incredible 1 in 3 odds of winning a prize
- Unique style of game that lends itself
well to group play
El Gordo is played different than a standard lotto-style
game, so we've provided descriptions below to help you understand
and enjoy one of the most popular lottery games the world
over.
El Gordo Tickets
 El Gordo tickets
are about the size of a sheet of paper (approximately 8 inches x
11 inches, or 20.3 cm x 28 cm), and
are divided into 10 smaller tickets (called "decimas"),
each with the same number. You can buy either the
entire ticket of 10 decimas, or you can buy a fraction of
the ticket by buying less than 10 decimas.
The prize you win is divided by your ownership amount of
the entire ticket. For example, if you buy 5 decimas
(out of the 10 decimas available for the ticket) and your
ticket wins US$1000, your share of the prize would be US$500,
or one-half of the prize awarded for your ticket.
If you bought 1 decima, your share would be US$100, or one-tenth
of the prize for your ticket.
As you can imagine, this prize structure works great for
both individual and group play.
Methods of Play
There are several ways to play, including:
 |
Buy an entire ticket |
If your ticket wins a prize,
you will collect 100% of the prize. |
 |
Buy 1 - 9 decimas from
one ticket |
If your ticket wins a prize,
you will collect a percentage of the prize, depending
on the number of decimas you purchase. |
 |
Buy 2 or more decimas,
each from a different ticket |
Increases your chances of
winning a prize by having multiple ticket numbers,
but decreases the amount of the prize by spreading
out your wager. |
How to Win
One of the best things about El Gordo is the great odds
of winning a prize. The chart below provides a list of
the different ways your ticket can win in the July 2004
drawing.
|
Prize Level
|
No. of Prizes |
How to Win |
Each Prize (US$) |
Total Payout (US$) |
|
10 |
First Prize |
$2.0 Million
|
$19.6 Million |
| |
10 |
Second Prize |
$979,680 |
$9.8 Million |
| |
20 |
One digit higher or lower than the 1st
Prize Ticket Number |
$34,779 |
$695,573 |
| |
20 |
One digit higher or lower than the 2nd
Prize Ticket Number |
$31,595 |
$631,894 |
| |
990 |
First 3 digits of the 1st Prize Ticket
Number |
$2,449 |
$2.4 Million |
| |
990 |
First 3 digits of the 2nd Prize Ticket
Number |
$2,449 |
$2.4 Million |
| |
990 |
Last 3 digits of the 1st Prize Ticket
Number |
$2,449 |
$2.4 Million |
| |
990 |
Last 3 digits of the 2nd Prize Ticket
Number |
$1,225 |
$1.2 Million |
| |
9,990 |
Last 2 digits of the 1st Prize Ticket
Number |
$735 |
$7.3 Million |
| |
9,990 |
Last 2 digits of the 2nd Prize Ticket
Number |
$735 |
$7.3 Million |
| |
99,990 |
Last digit of the 1st Prize Ticket Number |
$245 |
$24.5 Million |
| |
16,000 |
Last 3 digits of a bonus number |
$1,225 |
$19.6 Million |
| |
50,000 |
Last two digits of a bonus number |
$490 |
$24.5 Million |
| |
100,000 |
Last digit of a bonus number |
$245 |
$24.5 Million |
| |
100,000 |
Last digit of a bonus number |
$245 |
$24.5 Million |
| Total prizes |
389,990 |
|
Total
Cash Payout |
$171Million
|
|
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now