Madrid , Spain ( CNN ) -- Spain 's El Gordo , or `` the fat one , '' annual Christmas lottery paid a hefty $ 3 billion in prize money on Wednesday to thousands of people testing their luck in Spain 's deep economic crisis . The top single prize was about $ 4 million , and many of the winning tickets in that series were sold in Barcelona and the nearby town of Cerdanyola in the northeastern region of Catalonia , where the big prizes have often landed over the years . Despite a widespread sense that money is n't flowing and bank loans are hard to get in Spain 's financial crisis -- with nearly 20 % unemployment and a deep deficit that has prompted government austerity measures -- Spaniards and others from abroad `` invested '' about $ 4.3 billion into the Christmas lottery this year . Seventy percent was paid out as prizes , or $ 3 billion , while the remainder went for lottery adminstration and the national treasury , according to the national lottery website . The winning number was 79.250 . Most Spaniards buy just a one-tenth portion of a numbered series , and for Wednesday 's top prize , it meant someone could have paid about $ 25 for a tenth portion and won $ 400,000 in return . That 's why champagne , or the Spanish bubbly called cava , flowed at lottery offices , restaurants , and stores which had sold the winning numbers , often to Spanish families , or a group of co-workers . Spaniards on average spent about $ 80 for lottery tickets . Despite the economic downturn that was almost as much as last year . Spanish news reports said a bar owner in the town of Palleja , near Barcelona , had purchased a large number of what turned out to be winning tickets , and in turn sold them to his customers . Some $ 235 million in prize money was to be distributed among them . Other winners included a group of truck drivers from southern Spain who had purchased some of the winning tickets at a lottery office in central Barcelona , Spanish media reported . The lottery started in 1763 , or 247 years ago . It has become such a deep tradition in Spain that even people who do n't buy lottery tickets usually end up with some tiny fraction tickets given away by their local butcher shop or pharmacy . The three-hour lottery draw was nationally televised and followed closely on radio and the internet , with Spaniards continually checking their ticket numbers . Numerous smaller prizes , such as $ 60,000 for a series , were also awarded . The lottery draw was held at a convention center in central Madrid this year , moving from its previous location at a school for the first time in 47 years , because officials said , more space was needed due to increased interest .
Ticket buyers poured $ 1 billion into Spain 's lottery known as El Gordo . The lottery paid out $ 1 billion in prizes . Despite Spain 's depressed economy , sales were brisk .