The four 'Fat Ones' of José, the man who brought millions to Marbella and who for 35 years bought the number his father liked

Today, José Charro has hit the jackpot four times. One literally, another for having distributed millions of euros among his clients—"humble people, ... you just have to see how they are dressed," he specifies—, the third because another winner is his son, Francisco, and the fourth because he just found out he's going to be a grandfather. Yes, Francisco's son or daughter comes with a bread under the arm.

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José Charro is the owner of the bar restaurant El Leonés, on Las Palmeras Avenue in Marbella, and if today has been lucky, it is because he has been the one to seek out Lady Luck. He has been playing the number 79432 for 35 years. And the reason is no coincidence: "I chose it because my father liked it." The years they have been buying that number are the same years his hospitality establishment has been open, and the same years his clients have been playing it. "It had to hit you eventually," he points out.

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The owner of 'El Leonés Las Palmeras' estimates that he has sold around 300 tickets, which would mean having distributed up to 120 million euros. He does not know exactly how many tickets he distributed because this year he could not buy all he wanted. "Due to family issues, we bought the lottery later, and they sent us what was left of the number," points out Francisco. The last ticket was sold on the 21st, the day before the draw.

The 400,000 euros (328,000 after taxes) that the children of San Ildefonso have 'left' him today will be reason enough for José to retire

The 400,000 euros (328,000 after taxes) that the children of San Ildefonso have 'left' him today will be reason enough for José to retire. His son, who has just recently bought the neighboring premises in the Las Palmeras building, will take over the bar restaurant. This December 22, 2025, has turned from being a community of property owners of "thousand-euro earners" to one of millionaires.

And it is the neighbors and regular customers, people of humble origin and workers, to whom José, a man born in the Leonese locality of Quintana del Marco, just 13 kilometers away from the Lottery Administration No. 1 'La Fuente' of La Bañeza, where he has been buying the tickets for all these years, has distributed luck. He has not returned to his village for a year and now he says he will go back. "We'll have to celebrate there again," he points out while continuously hugging clients and friends: "I've made you rich," he tells one of them. And to him and about 300 more thanks to that 79432 that his father always liked.