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Biggest ever lottery win in Germany

Timothy Jones (dpa)July 30, 2016

A new German lottery record has been set, with 84.8 million euros going to the lucky ticket holder. The chance of winning the jackpot in the Eurojackpot lottery is one in 95 million.

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Eurojackpot Lotterie-Schein
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Seidel

A person or persons unknown in the western state of Hesse have had the biggest lottery win ever in Germany, cracking the jackpot in the Eurojackpot lottery to the tune of some 84.8 million euros ($94.76 million).

So far, no one has come forward to claim the prize, which was drawn on Friday evening in the Finnish capital, Helsinki.

"It is the highest lottery win ever in Germany," said Bodo Kemper from the German lottery company Westdeutsche Lotterie.

"We are, of course, absolutely delighted that the win has gone to Germany again," he said.

Previous record beaten

The previous German record for a win in the lottery was held by a player from the Cologne region, who took home almost 76.8 million euros in March.

The biggest-ever win among all the 17 countries participating in the Eurojackpot, a European lottery launched in March 2012, amounted to 90 million euros, the highest possible sum, and was taken by a player from the Czech Republic in 2015.

The lottery draw takes place every week on a Friday evening in Helsinki. The participating countries are Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.