Woman says $26M California lottery ticket destroyed in wash

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Jack Durschlag | Fox News




A California woman purchased a $26 million winning lottery ticket in November, but accidentally put the ticket in the pocket of her pants that went through the laundry, a report said.

The woman was not identified, but KTLA reported that she purchased the ticket at a convenience store in Norwalk, Calif. The woman came into the service station on Wednesday to explain her predicament, the store’s manager told the station.

She had until midnight Thursday to claim the prize for the Nov. 14, 2020 drawing from the Arco AM-PM, the official said. The manager, who would only give his name as Frank, said surveillance video showed the person who bought the ticket, the television station reported.

A copy of that surveillance video was turned over to California Lottery officials, but the original was lost when the store recorded over it, the manager said. He described the winner as a woman in her 40s.

The television station reached out to California Lottery officials to confirm video evidence of the winner, but officials would neither confirm nor deny its existence.

If the prize goes unclaimed, the one-time payout of $19.7 million goes to California’s public schools, a California Lottery news release said.

Officials said if a winner loses a ticket, they must provide substantial evidence they owned it, such as a photo or photocopy of the front and back of the ticket.

[FBD]

how the hell does one lose a winning lottery ticket worth millions, I mean, you have to know its a winner before you lose it....so you KNOW you've got something really really really valuable that you should PROBABLY take care of....

[Teh One Who Knocks]

And I don't understand the people that wait until the absolute last minute to cash in a big winner if they have it. Why take a chance of letting it get that close and risk having the ticket expire on you?

[lost in melb.]

[PorkChopSandwiches]

[The Monk]

Here we can register with the lottery so that when you purchase a ticket, scan a membership card and if not claimed in person within a short period of time, the winnings are paid to your bank account automatically.

[deebakes]

i think half of the lottery income comes from people not claiming their winnings