By David Willey BBC correspondent in Rome

Lotto fever has gripped the country

Lottery hopefuls have failed in their bid to claim the $66m jackpot in Italy's state-run Superenalotto lottery.

No-one won Wednesday night's draw and the prize money - now amounting to a European record of $70m - has been rolled over until Saturday's draw.

Some 92 million tickets, purchased for as little as $0.90 were sold this week as lotto fever gripped the country.

Many Germans and Austrians crossed the border into northern Italy to buy tickets.

There were sighs of pain and also of relief in millions of homes as the results of the draw in the state-run lotto contest were broadcast on TV.

No-one has won the jackpot for 22 successive weeks - the longest period since the popular low-stakes betting game became a twice-weekly event six years ago.

Betting syndicates

The game attracted 60% more players this week.

Aspiring millionaires have to select six numbers at random between one and 90 to win.

The odds are heavily against them as there are a possible 422 million winning combinations.

Many betting syndicates have been formed to try to win the jackpot.

Some have as many as 1,000 members investing hundreds of euros each.

Italians invented the lotto game 500 years ago in Florence and it has been popular ever since, but nowadays the Italian state is the biggest winner of all.

The Superenalotto has been a state monopoly for many years and an Italian MP has recommended that the jackpot should be restricted in order to avoid the lives of future winners and their families going haywire.