A $1 million winning lottery ticket was lost by a man in California, and now he’s just about out of time to find it.
According to the New York Daily News , a man from Rosemead says he purchased the ticket which had the matching winning numbers for the $1.1 million prize, but the ticket was misplaced. The state lottery allows winners to come forward within 180 days from the drawing, and March 13 marks the six month period.
“Officials matched the time stamp of the winning ticket to surveillance video from the Rosemead market where it was sold. They hoped releasing photos of the buyer would help identify him. The man saw his face on the news and finally reported to lottery officials as the Thursday pick-up deadline loomed. He came empty handed because he couldn’t find his ticket, officials said.”
The $1 million winning lottery ticket that was lost won’t make a difference going forward. The lottery donates any unclaimed money to the California public school system after the 180-day threshold. The man who won the lottery has not spoken out, but it’s safe to say that he’s in shock — and may be really, really mad at himself.
Have you seen this man? Tell him to claim his $1-million lottery prize http://t.co/tQAPM4RsIo pic.twitter.com/YSWr1bec4S
— Veronica Rocha (@VeronicaRochaLA) March 12, 2015
According to the Los Angeles Times , there are plenty of people who are imagining just how terrible it must feel to know that you had a million bucks in your possession, but you lost it.
“He’s a winner, and you can’t take that away from him. I have great sympathy for him. It’s quite a thing to dream about great wealth, and then to lose it,” said Los Angeles resident David Greenberg.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , there is a chance that this unnamed man could still get his money . Aside from being on video, the state lottery will award him the money if he can prove that he actually purchased the ticket.
“To prevent a fraudulent ticket claim, he will undergo some rather extensive interviews with lottery personnel to determine that he did, indeed, purchase the ticket.”
It is unclear if the man would have had to do this before the 180-day grace period was up.
In 2003, a lottery prize of $28 million went unclaimed in California. It was the biggest jackpot to go unclaimed ever. What would you do if you won the lottery but lost your winning ticket?
[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images]
