Tenerife's Lucky Gas Station Becomes Lottery Landmark
La Chasnera, a Tenerife gas station known as "the lucky gas station," has become a national landmark for consistently selling winning tickets in Spain's Christmas lottery, El Gordo, attracting hopeful customers despite regional spending trends.
People often say you're more likely to be struck by lightning than to win 'El Gordo,' the top prize in Spain's Christmas lottery. But that doesn't stop hundreds of hopefuls from visiting La Chasnera, known as 'the lucky gas station,' in Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife. On Thursday, December 18th, the station was buzzing with customers. La Chasnera first made a name for itself in 2013 when it sold a full second prize ticket, number 79,712. According to manager José Ángel González, this amounted to 1,600 individual tickets, totaling 200 million euros.
Since that big win, La Chasnera has continued to hand out prizes. If they win again this year, it would be their fifth time distributing a major prize. The shop walls, where the lottery machines are located, are covered with posters of past winning numbers. This year marks the thirteenth consecutive year La Chasnera hopes to bring good fortune. They're even selling tickets for the 'El Niño' lottery, which happens on January 6th, 2026. Unlike traditional lottery shops that "choose which numbers to sell and often pick the 'nicer' ones, usually in the classic ticket format," as explained by staff at the lucky gas station, La Chasnera's numbers are all generated by machine. This offers a wider range of possibilities for those placing their bets.
Inside, Begoña García Flores and Mariela Valentín Valentín quickly type on touch screens, handling even the most unusual customer requests. "I want two identical tickets ending in seven," one customer asks from behind the counter. "Sorry, we don't have any left with that ending," García Flores replies. A paper stuck to the glass lists nearly twenty sold-out endings, including popular choices like 13, 7, 5, 15, and 69. Despite this, one hopeful buyer remarks, "all numbers are in the drum," reminding everyone that any number could win. Another customer exclaims, "Don't show it to me anymore, for God's sake!" – preferring not to know the number the machine gives them, truly leaving it all to chance.
Manager José Ángel González confirms that many customers are superstitious, often asking for specific numbers, including some of the popular ones already mentioned. Some requests are purely numerical: 54 is popular because it's the kilometer marker for 'the lucky gas station,' and 38,611 is requested as it's the postal code for nearby San Isidro. This constant "dance of figures" keeps employees busy. Mariela Valentín explains, "Customers ask for hundreds or tens in a particular way, or for consecutive numbers. We simply look for what's available and best matches their request."
Even though the queue at La Chasnera grows longer throughout the morning, provisional data for 2025 shows that people in the Canary Islands spend less on the Christmas lottery than most other Spaniards. They spend an average of 47.24 euros, compared to the national average of 76.08 euros. With 105.29 million euros worth of tickets allocated, the Canary Islands are among the regions with the lowest projected sales volume.
One customer asks for her father's bus driver license plate number. Another, Isabel Báez Ramos, simply asks for "whatever they give me." She explains, "I used to buy number 11, but now I prefer not to know what I have." She joins the back of a queue of about 50 people, with four friends already a few meters ahead. "I'm from Santa Cruz, but I come to spend the day in Las Américas and take the chance to visit here," she says with a hearty laugh. "Let's see if we get lucky and we all go to Hawaii!"
Francisco Javier Benítez Díaz stares at a number on the glass, then jokes, "I won't tell you what it is, or you'll jinx it for me!" He's with his brother, Jesús Manuel, and a neighbor from La Gallega (Santa Cruz), Gumersindo Navarro Díaz. They've come "to look for money," they quip. "We don't care about the numbers. We've come all this way just for a chance. Let's see if it at least gives us enough for a few beers," they add.
While some customers have no preferred number, others visit La Chasnera purely out of tradition. The manager shares some memorable stories: during the December long weekend, "a group of women from Gran Canaria always comes dressed as sevillanas." He also recalls a couple who met in the lottery queue a few years ago and "now have a child. That truly is like winning the lottery," he says warmly. Another story is about a sweet shop worker from Buenavista del Norte whose ticket won a prize in 2024. "The girl brought us a huge box of sweets," he remembers.
Whether they win or not, customers keep returning to La Chasnera, their hope for a prize staying strong year after year. The service station workers are just as excited for next Monday's draw. "It's a special day for us. I'm already nervous," admits Mariela Valentín. Begoña García laughs, adding, "I'm off on Monday, but I'll come anyway." Valentín has worked at La Chasnera since 2018, while García is a newer addition, having started in October 2024.
Even though La Chasnera has only been giving out prizes for just over a decade, it's already famous across Spain. It now stands alongside legendary lottery shops like Doña Manolita (Madrid), El Gato Negro (Barcelona), Bruja de Oro (Lleida), Manises (Valencia), and Sagasta (Seville) – all known for distributing the most luck during the Christmas season. The incredible winning streak of 'the lucky gas station' in southern Tenerife has truly earned its place among these national landmarks.