Fourteen people shared a record NT$600 million jackpot yesterday, the highest ever for Taiwan's computerized lottery.
The winning numbers were 03, 16, 17, 29, 34 and 37 -- with the bonus ball number 33.
Despite their good fortune in each getting NT$42.78 million, some of the winners were disappointed that the top prize was to split so many ways.
There were 38 winners of the second prize, who are to share NT$95.8 million, giving them NT$2.52 million each.
Encouraged by Tuesday's fat jackpot, eager buyers queued at lotto booths across the nation from early yesterday morning. According to TaipeiBank, which administers the lottery, a total of NT$1.85 billion-worth of lottery tickets were sold for last night's draw with a total prize pool of NT$1.03 billion.
By 10am the jackpot had already exceeded NT$160 million. Throughout the day lottery retailers happily predicted the jackpot could be as much as NT$700 million.
One man spent NT$105,000 on the NT$50 tickets at a lotto booth in Taipei's Wanhua District.
Long queues appeared at a lotto booth in Taipei's Shihlin District, where a winner of Tuesday's jackpot bought his tickets. One buyer spent NT$40,000 at the booth.
The booth, celebrating its good luck in Tuesday's jackpot, prepared 1,700 pieces of fried chicken for its customers.
Another lotto booth in Shihlin drew a woman who spent NT$30,000 on tickets. She said her colleagues gave her the money and that if she won the jackpot, she would have to share the prize with them.
The woman and her colleagues said they had had considerable success in the lottery.
"We are so lucky. We have won the second prize two times and earned millions altogether," she said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source