$1 Toto bet nets joint winner $5.36 million windfall

The winner takes it all… or $5.36 million, in the case of the recent $10.7 million Toto draw.

Two lucky punters shared the grand prize of $10,713,876 on Monday (Jan 10), which meant each walked away with a cool $5,356,938.

Even more fortunate is the one person who made only the minimum bet of $1 to land the windfall.

The winning numbers announced during Monday's draw were 8, 11, 17, 21, 30, and 44, with an additional number of 48.

Both winning tickets were bought in shopping malls — one at the Singapore Pools outlet located within the FairPrice supermarket at Tampines Mall, and the other at Cheng Tai Boon Beng, an authorised retailer located at Orchard Plaza.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the winning ticket at Tampines Mall was bought via QuickPick System 7 while the one at Orchard Plaza was an Ordinary Entry, meaning it cost the lucky punter just $1 to hit the mother lode.

This is only the second time in eight years that the authorised retailer at Orchard Plaza has given away the grand prize, the Chinese evening daily added.

In contrast, the Singapore Pools outlet located at Tampines Mall has so far released 11 Group 1 winning tickets, making it the more "huat" (prosperous) outlet of the two.

Number 44 has appeared 101 times

The Group 1 prize money had snowballed from the draw on Friday (Jan 7) as there were no winners for the $5 million pot.

The Group 2 prize from Monday's draw was won by 14 punters who each took home $85,925 — still none too shabby.

According to Shin Min, winning tickets were bought from popular betting hotspots such as Tong Aik Huat located at Blk 685 Hougang St 61 and the Singapore Pools outlet at Blk 101 Yishun Ave 5.

And while the number '4' is often considered inauspicious to the Chinese, it seems the opposite is true when it comes to Toto.

The number '44' has appeared 101 times in Toto draws so far, reported the paper. It is second only to the hottest number '40', which has appeared 113 times.

For those curious, the number '17' is the least drawn, at 87 times.

Singapore Pools' next big Toto event will be the $5 million reunion draw on January 21. May the odds be in your favour.

candicecai@asiaone.com