Got a pair of pants you haven’t checked for five months? Now might be the time to go fishing through the pockets, because someone in Melbourne has a lotto ticket worth a casual $55 million floating around somewhere.
You read that right: Someone in Melbourne bought a lotto ticket in January, struck it rich to the tune of FIFTY FIVE MILLION DOLLARS, and they do not realise that they’ve won yet.
The ticket was supposedly bought in January and has remained unclaimed ever since, giving Powerball officials quite the conundrum.
But here’s the real kicker: As far as claiming the prize is concerned, time is running out.
Whoever the winner is has less than a month to claim the prize before the whole kit and caboodle is handed over to the bloody Government.
Lotto rules state that unclaimed jackpots – which remain unclaimed for 6 months – must be handed over to the State Revenue office. After that time, the Victorian Government can (and probably will) use the windfall as they see fit.
All is not lost for any potential forgetful rich prick, but. The laws in Victoria also state that the person can turn in the winning ticket at any time after that, at which time the Government is required to fork over the winnings.
Powerball spokesperson Matt Hart stated the whole thing has lotto officials miffed. Miffed, he tells ya!
Each day during the last five months we’ve been asking ourselves, is today the day the winning ticket is presented? In previous cases where people have come forward weeks, months and even years after the draw to finally claim their prize, they’ve told us the winning ticket was hiding in plain sight the whole time — in their wallet or purse, on the fridge, or just lying around in a draw.
So for those of you who have a filing system that consists of a pile of old papers sitting in the back of the cupboard, here’s the vital details:
The ticket was purchased at Scole Lotto and News on Sydney Rd in Brunswick, and it was for Powerball draw number 1130 held on January 11. The winning numbers? Folks, they were 32, 7, 5, 34, 38 and 11, with a Powerball number of 12.
Who knows? Could be you, mates. Could be you.
