Spain's Christmas 'El Gordo' Lottery Spreads Around $2.8 Billion in Riches

For weeks, Spaniards had anticipated the arrival of "El Gordo" or "The Fat One."

But unlike Santa Claus, El Gordo arrived three days before Christmas, before noon on Sunday.

El Gordo is the first prize of Spain's hugely popular national Christmas lottery, which is said to be the world's largest based on the total prize money involved, even though other lotteries have larger single prizes. This year's draw will spread riches totaling 2.7 billion euros, or around $2.8 billion, much of it in small winnings.