recipes for a popular game that can bring in big bucks

Devouring and addictive passion for some or an innocent Sunday outing for others, lotos, bingos and quines still attract crowds.

“I won a dryer, I’m very happy! At Christmas my daughter said to me, I want a dryer. I just won it: impeccable!“This player of a certain age does not regret her Sunday afternoon and the hours spent sitting filling her card. She would not have regretted them even if she had won nothing. Because here the fever of the game matters more than profitability.

“This lotto will take place in 18 games, there will be six games of maxi-bingos to win the six jackpots today. In the event of a tie, the highest number will be declared the winner and the smallest will receive a consolation prize. It’s 2:30 p.m., let’s start! “Mic in hand, Lionel Boisseau has just given the start of the super-lotto in front of a packed house, 400 people glued to their boxes for three hours. His lotteries have been bringing together hundreds of faithful for years. He even happens to to organize “super-lotos” which can bring thousands of participants over an entire weekend to the Marsac exhibition center, near Périgueux.

And to last this long and retain so many people, Lionel has his recipe. “For a successful lottery, there must be people” explains Lionel in the preamble. “We try to welcome the public as best we can. We put ourselves in the place of a participant for comfort, so that the room is spacious, so that they are not too crowded. That’s why we put tables of four people, so that they are comfortable.” And for maximum comfort, he also ensures that the parking lot is not too far from the games room.

At this price, the organizer is almost guaranteed to be a hit at each event. And let no preconceptions deceive you, the lotteries are not reserved for the oldest age group or for local residents. “We reach everyone, seniors or young people as we can see today. The lottery is for different audiences, from 7 to 77 years old and even beyond. Today, I saw people coming from Limoges, from Brive. There are always regulars who come from far away because they appreciate this lottery formula that we offer them, and at the same time we also offer them nice prizes to win.“

Always looking for new ideas, Lionel has innovated with another new concept. “It’s ten euros for entry and they can take as many boxes as they want.“Ten euros for an afternoon of games and increased chances of winning, the formula is, as you can imagine, a hit. Good players are satisfied with around thirty cards to be able to monitor everything, explains Lionel, but some players go up to fifty.And they manage to follow, they have got used to it” smiles the organizer.

It still takes a lot of logistics to ensure that everything runs smoothly until the end. But the game is worth it, because the money brought in by these lotteries is used to finance, at least half, a major local event supported by Lionel Boisseau’s association, the Mensignac bread festival.
Every July 14 weekend since 1987, this celebration attracts thousands of visitors. “Every year, we hold different lotteries, which allows us to hold the bread festival that we know in the department. This year in addition, we are celebrating our 35th anniversary, we have 3 headliners, we have Kendji Girac, La Petite Culotte and the 3 Cafés Gourmands, that has a cost, we have no help, we have to we manage on our own if we want to liven up our village.” And it is certain that with his lotteries, Lionel has found a winning formula.