An Australia man who unknowingly kept a winning lottery ticket worth $100,000 in a drawer for five years said he was close to putting it through the shredder.
The anonymous winner got the shock of his life when he was told the old ticket had netted him first prize in a $2 million jackpot lottery draw, back in March 2001.
The man said he had been planning to get rid of the unchecked tickets he had amassed during his 30 year lottery hobby.
"I've had a drawer full of unregistered lottery tickets sitting in my desk for years," he said.
"I was virtually going to shred them in my shredder, but ... I thought I'd take the other tickets in to be checked.
"So I filled up one of those green recycled supermarket shopping bags with tickets and took them in ..."
Lottery officials called the man the next day, saying his bag full of tickets had carried a bit more than he bargained for.
"I got the call to say 'Are you sitting down because we've got some good news, one of your tickets has won $100,000'.
"I'm glad I took notice of the warning to sit down — it's quite a shock."
The office worker in his 50s said he planned to spend his surprise winnings on a new car and investing in the stock market.
NSW Lotteries John Vineburg said millions of dollars remained in unclaimed winnings, including a first prize Oz Lotto ticket from 1997 worth a $3.3 million.
"We're just urging everyone to go through their drawers, check under the lino because that little piece of paper could just be worth $1 million," he said.
I don't understand people who buy tickets, only to put them in drawers. Why spend the money if you can't be bothered to check them.
So tickets down under never expire? Good thing this wasn't the U.S. that ticket was worthless 4 1/2 years ago. BobP
No Kidding! Be sure to check those coat pockets. If you wait till next season, it may be too late!
Because some people play just to play, and don't expect to win. To them, it's not a potential source of money, just something to do for a buck.
This same guy will likely invest, as he claims, in the stock market with his winnings.....and then forget that he has bought any stock until years later something makes him check and he finds he has made millions more.
If you have a dollar bill in your car, it doesn't expire. Why should a lottery ticket? If you put $1,000 in a savings account and forget about it, it doesn't become the property of the bank. I understand they want to reinvest/redistribute the money, but every state should allow a player at least a year to claim his prize. In Florida you only have 6 months. I wonder how many more people would come forward if they had 5 years? I'm not convinced it would make a difference, but I have no idea how many people find winning tickets when it's too late. (That would be terrible!! I'd rather not know.)
Still, I agree that every player should check his tickets as soon as possible after the drawing. Rules are rules.
thats a long time for a tkt not to expire....wow
check under thelino
Whats a lino?
Australia rocks... 5 years?
Additionally, I am pretty sure that they do not pay any tax on gambling winnings down there.
Probably short for linoleum.
Actually if you leave $1,000 in a bank account and forget about it, it does become property of the state the bank resides in. The state becomes the custodian of it until the actual owner or their heirs come forward...that is why most states have unclaimed property sections on their website. Just FYI.
Brad
Thanks, Bradley. But I think we are talking about 2 different things here. I don't work in a bank, but I know a person can leave money in an account for a very long time and do nothing. Let's say you have a 24 month CD and never touch it, when it matures it will automatically renew for another 2 years at the current interest rate. States don't just take over your bank account unless the people are missing for a very long time with no forwarding address. If you die, your property might go to probate if there are no beneficiaries listed.
By using "forget about it" I meant, do nothing with it. I suppose I was going off topic a little, since I was thinking about FL, since we only hve 6 months to claim a lottery ticket. I was just saying that money in a bank doesn't "expire." Even if someone moves and leaves his property behind and it become the property of the state, he would still be able to claim it by proving rightful ownership. If someone finds an expired ticket, nothing he/she does matters.
Hi I have not been able to play PowerBall in 8 years since moving to Las Vegas Nevada. Is there a way to buy a ticket or TICKETS online? If not, Where would I purchase a ticket? They do not sell PowerBall here in Mob town USA lol
Thanks crystalleigh
Darned if I know...the Queens english is like a foriegn language.
You are absolutely right about the linoleum.
I had to go look for an Australian slang dictionary as the excitement of the question was killing me.
Have a fun day in the dictionary.
http://www.aussieslang.com/