Someone has won 20.85 million yuan (2.89 million U.S. dollars) in a lottery with a ticket purchased in Wuhan, the capital of the central province of Hubei, just in time for Lunar New Year.

The as-yet unidentified winner bought one "Double Colored Ball" ticket issued by the China Welfare Lottery for 10 yuan last week, the Wuhan-based Changjiang Times said on Wednesday.

The manager of the outlet where the winning ticket was sold, surnamed Yang, said he believed that the winner was "a regular buyer, although I don't know who he or she is."

The buyer chose seven sets of two-digit numbers (03, 08, 11, 17, 21, 27, 09) on the single ticket. Whoever it was also had foresight: rather than paying just the usual 2 yuan ticket price, he or she paid 10 yuan. Lottery players can multiply their winnings by multiplying the price of the ticket. In this case, the prize was quintupled.

The jackpot for this drawing was 4.17 million yuan, said Yang.

Lottery sales rose 20 percent last year to more than 100 billion yuan. The first lottery was launched in June 1987. China has two lotteries: the China Welfare Lottery and the China Sports Lottery.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2008)