Rome - In the medieval hamlet of Bagnone, after a night of celebrations,and a few spumante-induced hangovers, the identity of who won the 146.9-million-euro (210-million- dollar) record jackpot prize ticket in Italy's state lottery remained a mystery Sunday. Sure, almost everyone in this Tuscan town of just under 2,000 residents claims to know who the new multi-millionaire - the winning sum, rounded off tops 148 million euros - is after Saturday night's Superenalotto lottery draw.
It's just that no one is telling.
"Yes he called me, to say thank-you," said Vanni Simonetti, owner of Bagnone's Bar Biffi where the winning ticket with the correct six- number combination: 10 - 11 - 27 - 45 - 79 - 88 was sold for the price of just two euros.
"He is young and generous, that's all I can say," Simonetti added.
However Simonetti's partner and the bar's co-owner Annamaria Ciampini appeared less certain.
"There are many tourists in these parts, including English, French and Germans," she said.
"That amount of money would cover the municipal budget for 70 years," said Gianfranco Lazzeroni the mayor of Bagnone which has long faced a shrinking population as people seek better job opportunities elsewhere.
"Let's hope the winner decides to become an entrepreneur, and invest in the local economy," the mayor said.
Saturday's prize topped what is believed to be the previous highest lottery win in Europe when a 25-year-old Spanish woman in May won 126 million euros.
And Italian newspapers on Sunday were full of advice, much of it tongue-in-cheek, on what the lucky winner should do with his or her new-found fortune.
If the winner is a fan of top-flight football club Inter-Milan, he should resist all temptation to buy back star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was sold in the off-season to Spanish giants Barcelona, proffered Corriere della Sera columnist Beppe Severgnini.
By the same token, the winner should also avoid climbing to the top of the local church's bell-tower to shout out in joy, or to seek out a favourite primary school teacher and in gratitude "kiss her in the street."
In a more serious manner, Carlo Gentili of savings management firm Nextam Partners, suggested that the winner should invest around 40 per cent of the jackpot prize in mutual funds and government bonds that should guarantee safe returns of around 3 per cent.
Another 10 per cent could be used to buy shares in the stock market, a more risky but potentially more lucrative investment, while 40 per cent could go into real estate, to acquire properties in cities such as Rome, Berlin, New York and London, Gentili said.
