Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary directed by brothers Felipe and José Isla B., Netflix’s ‘Millionaire’ (originally ‘Millonario’) explores a controversial tale of a Chilean lottery claim no one could have imagined. It was back on March 4, 2018, when the numbers of Kino Draw #2049 for 2.4 billion pesos were announced, with it being made clear that the victor had 60 days to come forward for their prize. However, somehow two different men from the same city ended up alleging they had the winning tickets – Javier Zapata as well as José Próspero Rivera – making things quite complicated.
José Rivera Has Always Believed Himself to be Rather Lucky
Although José Próspero Rivera has consistently led a private life, we know he was a proud security guard residing in Los Ángeles, Chile, by the time the mid-to-late 2010s rolled around. His career may not have been glamorous, and he might have often been living paycheque to paycheque, but he was seemingly content with his life owing to the strokes of luck he used to get. In fact, according to his own accounts in the show, he was accustomed to finding himself in the right place at the right time at a lot of different points in life.
One such instance was on a random Sunday, José candidly stated, when he went out because he was hungry despite being aware of the fact that he had “just enough money for one drink.” He added he had thought to himself before leaving that it would be great if he had some extra cash in his pockets, only for a large bill to come flying near him less than 30 meters later. Such events were his “little miracles,” but the biggest of them came towards late-April/early-May 2018, as he found what he believed to be the winning Kino lottery ticket in his favorite backpack.
As per reports, José went to the market on his tricycle one day to keep up his side business of selling adorable puppies for 3,000-5,000 pesos, just for one of them to suddenly bite him. This bite wasn’t deep, but it was enough to make him bleed, he has since asserted, so he rumaged his backpack for the band-aids he always kept and found them in a pocket with a stuck/spoiled Kino ticket. He claims that when he finally managed to get it open, he realized it was the winning ticket, so he came forward on Day 58 even though Javier Zapata had already done so with his ticket too. What’s strange is that not only did two men from the same city of Los Ángeles publicly appear to acquire the prize, but they both did so with such damaged tickets that made it hard for experts to ascertain their authenticity and validity.
Animal Lover José Rivera Continues to Lead a Private Life
While José vehemently maintained he was the rightful winner of the 2.4 billion peso lottery, Javier did the same, driving the company behind it to file a lawsuit for fraud against the two men. This sparked controversial public conversations, too, with people from all walks of life and careers giving their opinion on who they believe the winner is, as well as how the matter should be settled. In fact, one radio host even tried to get the two alleged victors face-to-face to discuss the possibility of splitting the winnings halfway, yet it never happened as the farmer-family man refused. Javier was seemingly not interested in any appearances or negotiations with José, indicating his belief in his winning.
From what we can tell, nothing ever became of the fraud lawsuit, as it couldn’t be determined whether either or both of the alleged winning tickets were real or fake. In 2022, Javier himself filed a lawsuit to get the process of verifying his ticket moved along, but again, in July 2024, a court officially rejected his claim to the pot. As for José, it doesn’t appear as if the now 70-something-year-old took any legal actions against any party, likely indicating he hopes the matter will resolve itself soon.
However, José has asserted that if he does secure the prize, he would first get his teeth looked at since they have some issues, followed by a complete medical check-up to maintain good health. That’s because he admittedly doesn’t want to start any new endeavors, considering his age. Coming to his current standing, it looks like the retired security guard continues to reside in Los Ángeles, Chile, where he is happily surrounded by several pet dogs, one of whom is even named Kino. He does seemingly have a supportive family, too, including kids as well as grandkids, yet it doesn’t appear as if they live close by.
Read More: Javier Zapata: Where is the Alleged Lottery Winner Now?
