Vietnamese migrant worker wins NT$12 million top prize in Taiwan Lottery's Lunar New Year game

A Vietnamese migrant worker has won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a scratch card in Kaohsiung, becoming the first top-prize winner in Taiwan Lottery Co’s “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” Lunar New Year game.

According to a store representative, the individual purchased the winning ticket at a lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District. He was accompanied by two fellow Vietnamese migrant workers.

The win occurred after the man bought several tickets without success. As a final gesture, he held his last scratch card in one hand and rubbed the belly of a Maitreya Buddha statue displayed in the store with the other, the representative said.

“He said: ‘I hope I win the top prize,’ before scratching to reveal he had won NT$12 million,” she recalled. She added that the Buddha’s good fortune seemingly does not discriminate based on nationality.

The ticket was part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game, which was launched on 6 January to coincide with the Lunar New Year celebrations.

Each ticket in the game costs NT$1,000. The game offers eight top prizes of NT$12 million and 200 second-tier prizes of NT$1 million. According to Taiwan Lottery, these are record-high figures for the prize count and prize amounts in this category.

The company said that the overall win rate for this game is 70 percent.

The “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” is one of 10 new scratch card games released this year to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Another high-profile offering is the “NT$20 Million Super Red Envelope” (2,000萬超級紅包), which costs NT$2,000 per ticket. It features 10 top prizes of NT$20 million and 1,200 second-tier prizes of NT$1 million.

Taiwan Lottery stated that the number of top prizes, the volume of prizes exceeding NT$1 million, and the total amount of prize money match the record levels set during last year’s Lunar New Year period.

The festive season lottery offerings are a popular tradition in Taiwan, with many participants hoping to start the new year with a stroke of luck.