Three people shared a $17 million lottery jackpot in Hong Kong that saw thousands flocking to betting shops across the southern Chinese city for a chance to win the prize. The trio will each take home HK$44.5 million ($5.7 million) after the Mark Six draw saw its longest jackpot rollover in more than 30 years and record betting turnover of HK$343 million, or almost HK$50 for every person living in the city of seven million, the South China Morning Post reported Saturday.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which operates the lottery, could not be immediately reached for comment. The biggest payout to a single winner was HK$71 million in 2003, although the total prize fund has swelled above HK$100 million before. Mark Six players choose a series of numbers from one to 49 with a single bet costing HK$10. Casino gambling is outlawed in the former British colony, but punters can bet legally on the Mark Six lottery, football and horse racing through the Jockey Club, which has outlets across Hong Kong. Although the size of Friday's jackpot was big by local standards, it is dwarfed by lotteries in the United States and Europe. In the US in January, two tickets shared a jackpot of around $355 million in the Mega Millions draw.
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