Thousands of people in Spain are celebrating a true holiday jackpot.
The numbers for the $3 billion pot -- the world's biggest -- were drawn in Madrid on Monday for Spain's Christmas lottery. Spaniards were glued to their TVs as the winners were announced; prior to Spain's economic implosion in 2008, winners often splurged on new cars, beach homes or vacations. Now, many use winnings to pay off debt.
Unlike other lotteries, there is no single jackpot, but rather a series of smaller ones; the prize money will be distributed to thousands of winners. The top prize, El Gordo, is a 400,000€ ($489,000) payday distributed among hundreds.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press