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Known as the “King of the Pool”, Alessandro Montenegro transformed the Aldeota Lottery in Fortaleza into a millionaire factory. In the 30-year Mega-Sena contest, a pool from the house hit the six numbers and divided R$ 168 million among 100 shareholders, about R$ 1.68 million for each one.
Imagine discovering, on any given Sunday, that you just became a millionaire along with 99 other people. That is exactly what happened with the bettors of a single pool sold by a lottery in Fortaleza in the 30-year Mega-Sena contest. The bet hit the six numbers and took R$ 168 million, which, divided among the 100 shares, gave about R$ 1.68 million to each participant at once.
Behind the feat is a character who became a legend in the field. Alessandro Montenegro, owner of the Aldeota Lottery, is known as the King of the Pool, and not by chance. As shown by Exame, his house has already turned people into millionaires more than once, and the strategy he set up makes luck leave Fortaleza and reach bettors living on the other side of the world.
The draw that created 100 millionaires
The case happened in the special anniversary contest of the Mega-Sena, drawn on Sunday, May 24, 2026. According to CNN Brasil, the main prize of R$ 336 million went to only two winning bets, which split the pot. One of them, simple, was in Rio de Janeiro. The other was the pool from the lottery in Fortaleza, which scooped R$ 168.1 million.
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The numbers that changed the shareholders’ lives were 03, 30, 33, 35, 45, and 47. Since the winning bet was a pool of 100 shares, the giant prize turned into a hundred smaller prizes, but still breathtaking, with about R$ 1.68 million for each share.
The most curious thing is where these new millionaires are. They are not concentrated in Ceará. According to Exame, the clientele of Lotérica Aldeota is spread across several states and even abroad, with bettors in places as distant as Dubai and New York. In other words, the bolão from Fortaleza distributed fortune throughout Brazil and beyond.
Who is the “King of Bolão”
The title of King of Bolão didn’t come from birth, it came from a life turnaround. Before dealing with the lottery, Alessandro Montenegro worked with heavy machinery, the kind used in construction and road building, according to Exame. The lottery, founded in 2005, was just a side business while his strength was in machinery.
The turnaround came from a setback. In 2019, a flood in Pará disrupted services with the machines, and it was this pressure that pushed Montenegro to fully invest in the lottery. What seemed like a plan B turned into the work of his life.
The recognition didn’t take long. Already in February 2020, a bolão from the house hit an accumulated Mega-Sena of more than R$ 200 million and created 35 millionaires at once, according to Exame. It was then that the nickname caught on and Lotérica Aldeota, in Fortaleza, entered the national betting map.
The lottery that became a bolão factory
What Montenegro did differently was treat bolão as a scale business, not as a street corner game. With the pandemic and isolation, he heavily invested in remote service, delivery of bets by motorcycle, and keeping tickets in the lottery’s own safes, which gave distant bettors the confidence to trust the house. “Today, 90% of my business I sell here on the cell phone,” he told Exame.
The business numbers are as impressive as the prize. The operation grossed R$ 57 million in 2025 and employs about 100 employees, according to Exame. More than 60% of the client base is outside Ceará, and the average monthly ticket per client is around R$ 350, in bolão that usually has 9 to 20 numbers, above the market average.
This engineering explains why luck seems to always knock on the same door. It’s not just luck, it’s volume: the more people playing together and the more numbers in the game, the greater the chance of a King of Bolão ticket hitting the prize. The Mega-Sena continues to draw randomly, but the lottery’s model increases the number of attempts under the same roof.
From Fortaleza to the world
The reach is what stands out most in this story from Fortaleza. A Brazilian living in Dubai or New York can join a bolão from Aldeota via cell phone, have the ticket stored in the house’s safe, and follow the draw thousands of kilometers away. The lottery, which was always a street corner habit, became a service with a business-like appearance.
For the common bettor, the case serves as both a showcase and a warning. A showcase because the pool really multiplies the chances for those who play in a group. A warning because the size of the divided prize reminds us that, even in a collective game of chance, what makes a difference is organization: registered share, receipt kept, and clear rules of division.
In the end, what the King of the Pool sells is not just the bet, but organized hope. And the Mega-Sena of 30 years just proved, with 100 new millionaires, that this hope sometimes turns into a real check.
The story of the lottery in Fortaleza that created 100 millionaires at once has all the ingredients that captivate Brazilians: the shocking number, the luck that changes lives, and a character who went from heavy machinery to becoming the King of the Pool of the Mega-Sena. The R$ 168 million shared shows that sometimes winning together is the most real way to win.
And you, would you join a big pool like this, aiming for the millionaire slice, or do you prefer to take a chance alone with a simple bet? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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