Paris - A French lottery player beat about 40 million other hopefuls, and odds of 1 in 76 million, to win 100 million euros (147.1 million dollars) in a European jackpot, the largest lottery payout ever made in France. The unnamed winner, who hails from France's Mediterranean coast, picked the winning combination of 6, 16, 30, 38 and 41, as well as the bonus numbers of 2 and 4 to win the Euro Millions lottery, reported French broadcaster TF1.
The winner was the only one to pick that combination of numbers. Residents of nine European countries can participate in the lottery.
Although the win sets French records, the European record for a lottery win goes to an unknown Italian who won 147 million euros in August. The world record was set in October 2005, when a US lottery player won 340 million dollars.