£5M U.K. National Lottery winner claims jackpot

Sep 15, 2009, 12:11 pm (11 comments)

UK National Lottery

The winner of a £5 million (US$8.2 million) National Lottery jackpot which had gone unclaimed for two weeks has come forward, operator Camelot said today.

Last week Camelot launched an appeal to find the lucky punter after the £4,908,817 top prize from Saturday August 29 was not claimed.

The ticket was bought in the Sheffield area.

"We're delighted that the winner of this prize has now come forward and we hope that they will enjoy their win," a National Lottery spokeswoman said.

"It would have been awful if the ticket-holder had missed out on this substantial and life-changing amount of money. We would like to remind all National Lottery players to check their tickets every time they play."

The missing winner had until February 25 next year to make their claim but ended coming forward well before the deadline.

The winning Lotto numbers were 9, 18, 34, 37, 39 and 47.

Camelot said no more details about the winner will be released unless they agree to take part in publicity.

The biggest ever unclaimed jackpot was one of £9.4 million (US$15.5 million). The lottery player in that case bought their ticket in the Doncaster area of South Yorkshire in 2005 but never came forward to claim the cash.

This Friday's Euro Millions draw could break all records if it is won by a single player.

The estimated jackpot is £85 million (US$140 million). The UK's biggest lottery winner to date is Glasgow postal administrator Angela Kelly, who won £35.4 million (US$58.2 million) in August 2006.

The biggest Euro Millions winner of all time was Dolores McNamara, from the Republic of Ireland, who won £77 million (US$126.6 million) in July 2005.

Birmingham Mail

Comments

Todd's avatarTodd

That was quick.  I wonder if they read the other story I posted this morning? Smiley

RJOh's avatarRJOh

The missing winner had until February 25 next year to make their claim

I'm wondering why the rush to find him so soon after the drawing.  I would think it's normal for a winner to take some time to consider his options and their likely consequences before coming forward.

time*treat's avatartime*treat

Camelot said no more details about the winner will be released unless they agree to take part in publicity.

That's the way it should be done everywhere. Cheers

ThatScaryChick's avatarThatScaryChick

Quote: Originally posted by time*treat on Sep 15, 2009

Camelot said no more details about the winner will be released unless they agree to take part in publicity.

That's the way it should be done everywhere. Cheers

I agree. Congrats to the winner!

joshuakim

i bought euromilliions ticket for this friday.  cant wait :D

myturn's avatarmyturn

I found this comment interesting....

 

"Camelot said no more details about the winner will be released unless they agree to take part in publicity."

 

 

All US state lotteries should adopt such a policy!

myturn's avatarmyturn

The UK lottery should have a players registration system, as we have here in NSW. It gives players to opportunity to register with the lottery and then use the card each time they play. If they forget to check their numbers or collect their prize, it is mailed to them. For large prize wins, the lottery will contact them with the good news.

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

I think Todd is correct, his reminder to search for the ticket article must have been just what the winner needed to search their pockets, or push to finalize things with their financial advisor. 

Woo Hoo!  Now that's a life changing, quickly quit-your-job, retirement-plus type of lottery ticket win, congratulations!!! 

This is the scenareo I want my winning lottery ticket to provide for me this month Yes Nod

FiLUK

Quote: Originally posted by joshuakim on Sep 15, 2009

i bought euromilliions ticket for this friday.  cant wait :D

Me too im gonna spend about £20, if you won the £85,000,000 even in a 1% interest bank account you would get £95.23 interest ever hour.

Todd's avatarTodd

Quote: Originally posted by RJOh on Sep 15, 2009

The missing winner had until February 25 next year to make their claim

I'm wondering why the rush to find him so soon after the drawing.  I would think it's normal for a winner to take some time to consider his options and their likely consequences before coming forward.

Most people seem to claim the jackpot very quickly in the U.K.  I'm not sure why.

myturn's avatarmyturn
In the UK, lottery players have the right to anonymity, according to The National Lottery Commission which is responsible for licensing and regulating the UK National Lottery.
 
"Players have the right to maintain their anonymity unless they sign to request publicity. Camelot, (licensed operator of the UK National Lottery), is required to ensure that prizewinners’ details are kept secure within Camelot, and are only disclosed to authorised staff."
End of comments
Subscribe to this news story