Permanent Secretary for Finance Suparat Kawatkul, who presided over the Bt64.39-million jackpot draw, said ticket sales had been the highest in three years.

It is believed the record sales were due to speculation on the numbers 558 and 41 hinted at by a Buddhist monk and on 960, 922, 69 and 60 linked to the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King's accession to the throne, according to a GLO source.

The GLO would have had to pay out Bt74 billion if the projected numbers had been drawn, the source said.

Sales of number 588 alone were worth Bt148 million, so if it had come up the prize money would have been Bt42.5 billion. Bets on 960 would have meant Bt19 billion, and 41 would have meant Bt3.510 billion, the source said.

In fact the first prize number was 110935, the two-digit winning number was 17, and the three-digit numbers were 381, 410, 595 and 250.

Punter Phuang Thanyacha-roen, 57, came from Suphan Buri to see the draw in person, having bet Bt3,000 on 588. He admitted he was a little disappointed not to have won but said he would persevere.

"I'll put this one down as a donation to the government," he said.

The lack of pay-outs means the next draw, on July 1, will have a jackpot of nearly Bt100 million, Suparat said, insisting the GLO would actually be able to pay it as it had Bt15 billion in funds.

According to Niwat Chom-ngam of the Chiang Nga tambon administration organisation in Lop Buri's Ban Mi district, from 7pm on Wednesday night to the next morning, thousands made the journey to Wat Ban Lad Thipparos in Nakhon Sawan's Takhli district to get lucky numbers for Friday's draw from a Buddhist monk identified only as Phra Lek. He picked 588 and 41, and the news spread to punters nationwide.