“This is going to be historic!” With this sentence, the Pasapalabra account on Twitter has announced that this week -it is still unknown which day-, Orestes or Rafa will win the biggest jackpot in the program’s history: more than 2,248,000 euros.

A duel that has already broken several records in the Antena 3 program for a long time. Orestes is the longest-lived contestant in the history of the contest. The 25-year-old from Burgos participated for the first time in Pasapalabra in 2016. And although on that occasion he did not last long in the contest, upon his return he has accumulated more than 300 programs.

For his part, Rafa started in the contest in June 2022. Since then, both have starred every afternoon in the best and most intense duels that have been experienced in the program presented by Roberto Leal.

In the more than 200 programs in which they have faced each other, both Orestes and Rafa have been on the verge of winning the pot on several occasions. In fact, last week there were real heart attack Roscos, something quite common in two contestants who, in addition to getting along, are always very even.

In the case of Orestes, the name of the queen consort of Aragon belonging to the House of Moncada who married King James II in 1322 -Elisenda- or the surname of the photographer who published Natural Habitats -Vitalis- left him without a boat. And in the case of Rafa, the same thing has happened with questions such as the surname of the Bishop who supported Henry VIII against the Pope -Gardiner- or the name of the music group that published the album Astromelia -Ventilader-.

At the moment, it is not yet known what day of the week one of the most anticipated television events will take place, nor the exact amount of jackpot that will be won, since during this week they can accumulate more money. Nor has Antena 3 announced whether the broadcast of the highest jackpot program in the history of the contest will be broadcast in its usual slot from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. or if, as they have done on other occasions, the broadcast will be transferred to prime time, as they did with Pablo Díaz in July 2021.

The last jackpot delivered by Pasapalabra was taken by Sofía Álvarez in September 2021. After 62 programs, the Bilbao woman took over the 466,000 euros that there was at that time. Since then, Rafa and Orestes have fought every afternoon to win the jackpot until reaching a figure never reached in the Antena 3 contest.

One of them will win the scandalous prize, while another will have to say goodbye to Pasapalabra. This is one of the most unfair rules on the show: whoever loses the pot battle is automatically eliminated. That is to say, if Orestes wins the boat, Rafa will have to say goodbye to the contest. The raison d’être is that if she were to contest again the next day she would start with a pot of only 6,000 euros and she could decide to fail systematically until she reached a higher amount.

Until now, the highest jackpots that have been delivered in Pasapalabra have been that of Eduardo Benito, in 2006, who won 2,190,000 euros; David Leo García, 10 years later, of 1,866,000 euros; Pablo Díaz, in July 2021, of 1,828,000 euros; or Juanpe Gómez, in 2013, of 1,674,000 euros. Five other contestants have won jackpots that exceeded one million euros.

Very high amounts of money that, in reality, are left almost half after having to pay the Treasury. It was Pablo Díaz who explained after winning the jackpot that they depend on each Autonomous Community. For example, he who paid taxes in Madrid, kept approximately one million euros of the more than 1,800,000 that he won, since in Madrid the amount that must be paid to the Treasury for a television award is 43.5 %.

That money is taxed at the general income tax rates whose tables establish the percentages depending on the amount of the prize. From the outset, all television cash prizes include a 19% income tax withholding. Later, when making the declaration, the contestant must pay the remaining percentage, depending on the amount of the prize and the autonomous community in which it is paid. For example, if Rafa is the one who wins the jackpot, since he lives in Seville, he will have to pay 47.5% of the prize. While if it is Orestes, from Burgos, the maximum personal income tax is 24%.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project