84-year-old man dies three days after winning Spanish Christmas lottery

A well-known merchant from Huesca, Spain, won the lottery, but unfortunately, he did not survive to enjoy his new fortune.

The dream of many people is to get the big prize of the lottery and José Luis Rodrigo López did it, however, he died three days later.

The 84-year-old merchant was managing alongside his brother Almacenes Rodrigo López, the textile company that his father founded in 1949.

On December 22, José Luis was doing some shopping in the San Jose neighborhood when he saw a commotion on the lottery door number 5 because the winning ticket had been sold right there.

As soon as he approached he realized that he was the happy winner of the lottery jackpot. He said he had to check it with the ticket at home.

Two days later he went to collect the prize in the morning. At night he began to feel bad and was taken to the San Jorge hospital in Huesca.

There he was admitted to the ICU and the next morning he died. Curiously, a week before, he had made the decision to permanently close the store.

At that time he commented: "it’s a bit like people, they are born, they have their peak moment and then they get worse and they just end".

The Christmas lottery of Spain is the most famous draw in the country and has kept the community fascinated for 200 years. On December 22 of each year, the Spanish media broadcast the images of the lucky winners of the draw.

Another very important part of the Christmas lottery is the event itself. It is most likely the longest and most ritualistic in the world.

The live broadcast of the lottery can last up to six hours and is the start of the holidays. However, what makes it more famous is the distribution of winning numbers that almost always allows a collective celebration.

The numbers are drawn by young boys and girls from the San Ildefonso School, which was founded in the 16th century and is the oldest in Madrid.

Back then, it was an education center for orphans but now it is a public school with a remarkable number of migrant students.

Not all winners of the lottery can always enjoy the prizes. This was the case of the Spanish merchant and Eric Walker, 56 years old.

He claims that he won the jackpot on a Pharoah Fortune card, but the organizers of the Camelot lottery refused to pay.

But Eric, from Sheffield, pledged to fight for the £ 200,000 and demanded an apology from the lottery and police chiefs if he is vindicated.