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COSTA RICA |
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13
Favourite Of This Year's Big Lottery -
"Gordo Navideño"
13 is the natural number after 12 and before
14. It is the smallest integer with eight
letters in its spelled out name in English.
It is also the age at which children
officially become teenagers.
The number 13 is also associated with bad
luck in some countries, and even has a
specifically recognized phobia,
Triskaidekaphobia, a word which
was coined in 1911. Friday the 13th has been
considered an unlucky day since the 1800s,
as a combination between an unlucky day,
Friday, and the number 13.
However, in Costa Rica this year, the number
13 is selling like the proverbial "hot
cakes" that in two weeks may make some Costa
Ricans very happy and very rich.
Vendors of the "gordo navideño" - the
Christmas lottery with the biggest payoff of
the year - say that although sales are slow,
the number 13 is the most sought out by
lottery buyers.
Other favourites are 09, 10 and 17.
How do Costa Ricans choose their favourite
lottery number? There is no easy and fast
answer there. Some say they follow the
numbers that come to them in a dream. Others
use the results of the past lotteries to
choose a "high" or "low" number, while some
use birthdays, anniversaries, age to play a
particular number or set of numbers.
The reason for the demand for the number 13
is that this year's "gordo navideño" will be
drawn on the 13th (Sunday, December 13) and
that lets some believe that 13 will have
super powers.
However, lottery experts remind that the
number of the draw day has never fallen for
the first prize and that the number 13 has
come up on four separate occasions sine 1960
and has never been drawn.
Whatever the reasons, there 1.45 billion
reasons for playing the lottery, as that is
the value of the prizes - ¢1.450 billion
colones - with the first prize paying out
¢725 million colones for an entire ticket
and ¢18 million for a "pedacito" (a piece or
1/40th of the whole).
The cost of an "entero" (entire ticket made
up of 40 portions) is ¢40.000 colones, while
a pedacito is only ¢1.000 colones.
Not bad odds, trading ¢1.000 colones for ¢18
million.
The lottery corporation urges to report any
vendor overcharging by calling 800-562 9148.
Good Luck!~
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