The Hangover from El Gordo in Marbella:

The aftermath of El Gordo in Marbella has been intense tonight, with a first prize from the Christmas Lottery that has kept many of the winners awake, not because of a late-night party but due to nerves and thoughts after El Leonés bar distributed a shower of millions.

El Gordo fell last Monday by chance in the coastal city, since the number 79,432 was mainly sold in Madrid and León, the latter province being the origin of the bar owner, José Charro, who has been selling the same number for 35 years to continue his father’s tradition.

"I bought it the first time, grew fond of the number, and kept repeating it until yesterday when we won,” the innkeeper exclaimed, assuring that he will continue selling the same ticket in the coming years that he acquires from the Las Fuentes lottery office in La Bañeza.

Thus, the establishment is returning to normality after selling more than 300 tickets of El Gordo, each endowed with 400,000 euros, and celebrating it grandly yesterday, so today they have resumed the daily menus with roasted chicken, lentils, or ribeye steak, along with a constant flow of both winners and non-winners coming to congratulate the owners or lament not having bought a ticket.

"I haven't been able to sleep all night, tossing and turning," Charro highlighted, emphasizing that "the most beautiful part is that we have brightened up a lot of families, which is the main thing," as he won a “shared” ticket and his son another, each awarded 400,000 euros.

Thus, he feels "much joy, and even more so distributing the prize as we have, among a lot of people who need it and I'm happy, besides that I also won," he stressed.

His son, Francisco Charro, expressed the same sentiment, noting that he did not drink yesterday, which has not prevented him from losing sleep, since "I simply couldn't sleep because I couldn't believe it." "Everything feels unreal and seeing so many things on the internet," the young man remarked, highlighting that he won El Gordo "twice over because I'm going to be a father again".

The "joy" of helping families

Like his father, the greatest satisfaction has been giving the Christmas Lottery prize "to people from the neighborhood who were in need and humble, most of them with problems," is the conclusion this family has reached after distributing a rain of millions and "the joy of having been able to help the families here, who are part of ours."

His mother, Tina Romero, also couldn't sleep: "Everyone has told me the same, that they couldn't sleep. I got up at 7:30 AM, started cleaning the kitchen and had to sit down, because I was dizzy from not having eaten anything all day yesterday because I couldn't stomach any food,” she recounted.

In addition to the lack of sleep, the hangover from El Gordo has been a coming and going this Tuesday of people who have approached the bar to "thank me and say that they couldn't sleep either," the innkeeper highlighted, indicating that she feels a “double happiness” because she is going to be a grandmother.

Merche Moreno is a regular customer at El Leonés for 35 years who has won the first prize of the lottery. The woman came to the establishment this morning to continue the celebration, feeling "euphoric" and "very happy".

"I still can't believe it, like I'm on a cloud. I couldn't sleep all night, thinking about everything," Moreno explained about how she currently feels, after being smiled upon by luck and celebrating with her friends. "We got together because it hit all of us except two, who didn't buy, and we were singing the ticket of the first prize all night," she exclaimed.

"There are no words to describe what it feels like, because it's a mix of emotions that are hard to separate. It's like a Molotov cocktail that will eventually explode and then you'll realize what has happened," this lucky winner verbalized, who besides “helping her children," will dedicate the money to indulge in a “trip.”

Employees at El Leonés also won El Gordo, such as Mariana Chaparro, one of the cooks at the establishment, who assured that "I'm going to keep working" and will use the prize to "pay off a little bill.”  

Visit from the non-winners

Today, many customers and friends who did not buy lottery tickets also came to the bar to congratulate the innkeepers, such as Alfonso, a man who has "been buying the number for ten years and forgot to buy it this year." "I remembered yesterday when I saw it on Facebook, bad luck," he lamented.

Conchita is another friend of the family who came to El Leonés this Tuesday to congratulate her friends, noting that she does not usually buy lottery tickets, although it is a "great joy" that El Gordo has hit several friends and neighbors in the neighborhood.

Katy is another customer who has been a regular at the bar for 30 years, and who usually buys lottery tickets every year, although not this 2025. "I missed the opportunity but I am happy for all my friends who did win," she celebrated.