Page 16 - iAV Edition #489

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Reporter Wins Mega Lottery, Quits Her Job On Air, Then Backtracks
Washington: A Spanish televi- sion reporter appeared to cele- brate and quit her job on live televi- sion after realiz- ing she had a winning lottery ticket. It was a decision for which she would later apologize.
On Sunday, Valencia commu- nity journalist Natalia Escudero was covering Spain's annual Christmas lottery, called El Gordo (The Fat One), when she found out that she was also a winner.
The state-run lot- tery is the world's richest draw, boasting €2.24 billion (about $3.58 billion) in prizes, according to the Guardian. Nearly 15,000 people can have a winning ticket that pays differ- ent amounts, according to trav-
el website Barcelona Yellow.
The winning number this year was 26590, and Escudero was one of the lucky ticket holders to have the correct number for a prize worth €400,000 for each ticket. But the prize money can be split multi-
ple ways, and Escudero would soon learn about the complexity of the distribution.
"I'm not going in tomorrow," she said, wagging her finger in front of the camera with her bangs shak- ing in unison. "Natalia doesn't work tomorrow. Woo!"
But Escudero would later learn that her share of the jackpot was only €5000 euros, about $8000, BBC reported.
A Spanish lottery ticket costs €200 euros, the Sun reported. So to make the game easier to enter,
people can buy a decimo, or a 10th of a full ticket, for €20. This is what Escudero, and probably those celebrating around her, actu- ally bought.
Some members of the public and Spanish media accused her of being unprofes- sional and duping
viewers about her earnings. Escudero tweet- ed an apology for anyone who felt deceived by her reaction. The past few months have been diffi- cult, she said, and the win was the first time she has felt some good fortune.
Escudero was disheartened that she had appeared to undermine her 25 years of experi- ence.
One thing was certainly true: She wasn't going to work the next day. Escudero was starting her holiday break and getting ready to celebrate her "delicious pinch" of good luck, she said.
It's unclear if she is still an employ- ee at RTVE.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine