Garda Lottery and Regattas Boost Promotion and Revenue at Lake Garda
For the third time, the National Lottery lands on Lake Garda, exactly ten years after its first edition. The draw for the billion-euro prizes will be paired with the sailing regattas called “Centomiglia Games Grand Prix of the Lake Garda National Lottery,” scheduled on the Brescia side of the lake, in Gargnano, from August 24 to 26.
The event was presented at the headquarters of the Circolo vela Gargnano, which will organize the races, by Giuseppe Mongello, president of the Communità del Garda; Luciano Galloni, counterpart of the Circolo vela Gargnano; and Ermes Buffoli, the tourism assessor of the Province of Brescia.
“This is a great promotional opportunity for the entire Garda basin,” Mongello emphasized, “and the Communità del Garda, which promoted the initiative to the Ministry of Finance, will use the proceeds from ticket sales to fund cultural events, environmental protection activities, and efforts to enhance the lake’s image.”
The Regattas and Sports Activities
“For the Lottery, we organized a dedicated regatta involving four types of boats: the Libera class, which are the Formula One of Garda, the Asso 99 and the Protagonist, boats native to Lake Garda and appreciated abroad, and finally the Optimist, small boats on which young children start racing,” explained Galloni, president of the Circolo vela Gargnano.
Five national teams (Italy, Austria, Hungary, Germany, and Switzerland) will compete for the trophy, while the sixth team will represent the European Community. The final race is scheduled for Saturday, August 25. The day after, based on the regatta results, this will be the only sailing race included in the 2001 national lottery calendar, and the ticket draw will take place.”
The Grand Prix Centomiglia Games Lottery will be preceded from June 13 to 17 by a world-class competition: the Pedrini Cento Cup. “Many of the skippers who participated in the America’s Cup will compete,” added Galloni.
Among them will be Francesco De Angelis with Luna Rossa, Paolo Cian (Mascalzone Latino, the other Italian America’s Cup team), New Zealand’s America’s Cup defender Murray Jones, and other champions such as Peter Holmberg (Virgin Islands), James Spithill (Australia), Philippe Presti (France), Kelvin Harrap, and Verona-born Nicola Celon, Italy’s best match race specialist.
The Traditional Centomiglia race is scheduled for September 15, and the course will return to the classic route, assured Galloni, with passes through Torbole, Brenzone, and Desenzano.
Tickets and Revenue
Tickets for the Garda Lottery will be available in a month: “We aim to match the sales volume of the second edition, which took place in 1995, when one and a half million tickets were sold, over 300,000 more than the first edition. Of course, back then, the Super Enalotto wasn’t competing,” said the president of the Communità del Garda.
This time, moreover, the profits will be shared with the organizers of other events linked to our sailing race: Goletta Verde, Perdonanza Celestina of L’Aquila, the processions of Frederick II of Swabia in Palermo, Iesi, and Oria, and the Pale of the Normans in Piazza Armerina (Enna).
Luca Belligoli
