THRILLS OF A LOTTERY

Evening Star, Issue 20167, 6 May 1929, Page 10

THRILLS OF A LOTTERY

EXCITEMENT IB NAPLES The drawing of an official lottery at Naples Ims had an extraordinary result a few weeks ago. The purchasers of tickets won so much that for a tune tiro officials were unable to pay out the winnings. Tiiis is duo to a practice among many of the people of Naples of (electing three numbers out of ninety a "id all backing them. The numbers 8, 65, arid 90 were chosen this time, and by a strange turn oi fortune all came out as winners in the same drawing. The Adds m such a case are something like 6,000 to 1. The public thus won over £540,000, making the drawing the largest of the kind over recorded. As a. consequence all Naples seemed to have lost its head. When the result became known the scones in the city were almost indescribable. The populous quarters ol the Mercalo, the Vicaria, the Peudino, the Porta, the Montecalvano were simply swarming with thousands of lottery ■winners shouting unci dancing wildlv with joy. Nearly everybody was in the streets holding np slips of paper in triumph. , , , One old woman who sold sweets and cakes from a stand at a street cornel looked at her papers and found she had won with 5 lire more than 20,000 live (£217). She kicked over her stand, sent her biscuits and cakes into the middle of the street, and ran away in delirious frenzy. Bonfires were lighted, and the people kept up the csleoration, shouting and talking till long altei midnight. , , When the order came for payments to begin a few days later omy some of the. booths were opened. iho. v " cl< ; literally stormed by a frenzied mass of persons, and the keepers of the booths were unable to satisfy the wild, gesticulating crowds.