Spaniards are hoping for an earlier Christmas present Thursday as they could win a share of 2.3 billion euros ($2.4 billion) from the world's biggest lottery.
According to El Pais, nearly 74 percent of Spain's population took a chance on "El Gordo" last year in what's considered to be more than just a lottery.
"It's a social tradition at a price more or less accessible for the majority of pockets," the Spanish newspaper said. It added that 89 percent of the Spaniards play as a habit without questioning the very little probability (0.001 percent) of getting the biggest prize.
The top individual prize in this Christmas tradition is worth 4 million euros and there are more than 14,000 prizes to be won.
The draw begins at 8 am London time with the transmission on the Spanish public television TVE. Last year, the draw lasted for four hours. The final list of prizes is published at 5pm London time.