Buddhist monk wins lottery in Thailand

A Buddhist monk won the 6 million baht jackpot in Thailand‘s national lottery draw yesterday. He says he will spend the money on making repairs at his temple in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

Phra Ajahn Praphas, a 63 year old monk residing at Wat Nong Bua in Ban Pho subdistrict of Korat’s Mueang district, won the lottery’s first prize of 6 million baht with the ticket number 132903.

The monk told reporters that he recently prayed to receive money to fix up his old, dilapidated temple in front of the Buddha statue inside the assembly hall at his temple.

Then, three days ago, Phra Praphas bought a lottery ticket from a peddler who visited his temple on a motorbike. He said he picked the number 132903 without much thought.

The monk believes he won the big prize thanks to the merit he has accumulated by ordaining as a monk. He says he spends all his time alone, sweeping the floor and feeding the temple’s dogs and cats. He said he never interferes with or bothers anyone.

Yesterday, lottery tickets containing numbers associated with Thailand’s Move Forward Party sold out from vendors all over the country after the party’s win in Sunday’s elections.

The party’s number – 31 – was the most popular. Like magic, the number came up yesterday and anyone with a ticket ending in the three digits 731 won a prize of 4,000 baht.

Tickets containing the number 30, meaning Thailand’s 30th Prime Minister, also sold out amid the nation’s outbreak of “Pita fever” after MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat announced his readiness to form a coalition and lead the country toward a better future following a stunning win from opposition parties on Sunday.

Last month, a Thai man who won 4,000 baht in the lottery got drunk to celebrate, climbed up a tree, crawled into the tangled communication cables, and fell asleep.

The next day, passersby called the police because they thought the man was dead. It turns out he was alive, just heavily drunk.