The first prize in this year's Channel Islands' Christmas Lottery draw has now topped £425,000, with less than a week to go before the winning numbers are drawn.
The jackpot was guaranteed to be at least £300,000 when this year's lottery was launched in October with the top prize climbing with every ticket sold.
Organisers have said they expect the jackpot to eventually reach last year's total of £545,118 before the draw is made on Thursday 21 December.
By this time last year, the prize had reached £510,000, meaning sales are slightly behind last year, but they're not too far off with the first prize total having climbed by £125,000 in the last 10 days alone.
Last week – with just two weeks to go before the big draw – the guaranteed first prize stood at £350,000, which was the lowest the jackpot had been in more than a decade – and was less than half the first prize was in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
There will also be 66 other prizes awarded when the draw is made, ranging from £500 to £50,000.
The organisers say there are also 200,000 instant prizes to be won on the scratch element of the ticket.Past wins have been shared by syndicates which Bill Cann, the Channel Islands Lottery coordinator for Guernsey Post, said remains a popular option for people wanting to take part.
“Syndicate sales are building nicely across the Channel Islands as we enter the final week before the draw day, which takes place in Jersey next Thursday 21 December. Guernsey Post now has a dedicated web page which has helped syndicates source blocks of tickets more conveniently.”
All the proceeds from the Christmas Lottery go to good causes across the Channel Islands with the Guernsey share being shared out by the Social Investment Fund.
“I would once again like to thank the people of the Channel Islands for supporting the Christmas Charity Draw. You have raised £millions for worthy causes over the years and helped many essential charities,” said Senior Lottery Officer, Jon Taylor.
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