A spectator waits for the start of the annual Christmas lottery draw, known as El Gordo, or The Fat One, at Madrid's Teatro Real, Spain, on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024.

Spain’s 200-year-old holiday lottery, "The Fat One," delivered a hefty prize again this year, with over $2.8 billion in prizes warbled out by schoolchildren and watched live around the world.

On Thursday, the winner of the world-famous El Gordo lottery will be announced. The lotto has been held in Spain for more than two centuries, having been founded in 1812, according to The U.S. Sun .

People wait for the start of the draw at Madrid's Teatro Real opera house during Spain's bumper Christmas lottery draw known as El Gordo, or The Fat One, in Madrid, Spain, Friday, Dec. 22, 2023.

Spain’s famous “El Gordo” Christmas lottery kicked off the holiday season with a massive prize pool worth 2.7 billion euros (around $2.8 billion) on Sunday (Dec 22). The first prize, known ...

Spain kicked off the winter holidays with its huge Christmas lottery known as El Gordo, and an unemployed Peruvian woman was among the winners of its top 400,000-euro ($578,800 Cdn) prizes Thursday.

Spain's popular lottery known as “EL Gordo" (the fat one) often prompts street and bar celebrations , with winners uncorking bottles of sparkling wine and singing and dancing.

Discover how El Gordo, the world’s largest lottery, transforms Spain’s holiday season into an economic powerhouse, boosting the nation’s GDP by 0.2% annually. Dive into the numbers, stories ...

A spectator waits for the start of the annual Christmas lottery draw, known as El Gordo, or The Fat One, at Madrid's Teatro Real, Spain, on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue ...

After "El Gordo" was announced, audience members — some dressed in costume as Don Quijote, Christmas elves, Biblical wise men and the lottery itself — began streaming out of the venue, ...

'El Gordo' lottery in Spain spreads Christmas riches worth $2.8 billion - Spaniards have been anticipating the arrival of “El Gordo” or “The Fat One” for weeks ...