Lottery Winner Claims Jackpot Hours Before Ticket Expired
A lottery winner almost missed out on the big prize.
The winner claimed the $1.5 million Powerball prize in California just hours before the ticket was meant to expire.
The California Lottery Twitter account confirmed the news, tweeting on Monday, "The claim is now IN for the #Powerball prize worth $1.5 million, which was set to expire TODAY— just in the nick of time! The vetting process begins next. Thank you to all of our players - and winners - for supporting #CaliforniaEducation."
The winning ticket, purchased at a Mobil gas station in the Los Gatos neighborhood in Santa Clara, was selected on October 26, 2022.
There was a long wait for someone to collect the hefty sum—a prize valued at exactly $1,556,855—as it was claimed just a week after the California Lottery issued a press release noting that the Powerball ticket would expire on Monday, April 24.
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Before the winner went to the lottery office, many had urged on social media for California natives to check if they'd scored the million bucks.
If you bought a Powerball ticket in Los Gatos, check it! A winning $1.5 million dollar ticket is set to expire on Monday, April 24th! It was purchased at this Mobil Gas station at 15380 Los Gatos Blvd on October 26, 2022. pic.twitter.com/ftxHEWZFLW
— Janelle Wang (@janellewang) April 18, 2023
Check your pockets! https://t.co/HV8Gwy6d18
— KUMV-TV (@kumv_tv) April 20, 2023
If you’re in Los Gatos and have unchecked lotto tickets go see if you got $1.5m laying around. You can reward me with coffee https://t.co/Ley9tAznkD
— isai.btc 🚾 (@IsaiBCortez) April 21, 2023
However, if the person hadn't claimed their prize, the money would've still gone to a good cause. As explained in the press release, it would've been donated to public schools in California. In fact, the state of California has raised over $1 billion for schools in unclaimed prizes since 1985.
It remains a mystery why the person, who hasn't been named yet, waited until the last day to come forward with their winning ticket, however, they're not the only one to have a last-minute win.
Last year, a 39-year-old woman in North Carolina won $501,544 after purchasing a lottery ticket minutes before the winning one was drawn. She only found out after she received an email notifying her of the win.
Next: Here's What Happens if No One Claims the Mega Millions Jackpot
