Woman forgot $23M lottery ticket in car and claimed it just before deadline

Nov 2, 2012, 2:03 pm (36 comments)

California Lottery

PALMDALE, Calif. — A California woman who didn't know she had a jackpot-winning $23 million lottery ticket in her car has come forward to claim her fortune.

The Palmdale woman's daughter recognized her from a newspaper photo of the supposed winner, captured on the liquor store's surveillance camera.

More details about the woman's identity were to be announced Friday, lottery officials said.

"She just never checked the ticket," lottery spokesman Alex Traverso told the newspaper. "Her daughter took a picture of her photo in the newspaper and sent it to her mother, she went to her car and found the ticket."

Earlier this week, lottery officials had put out a public notice that the winning ticket from the May 28 drawing had not been claimed and was in danger of expiring within the month. They also released a grainy surveillance photo of a woman in a blue shirt and dark pants who was identified as the then-unknown winner.

The ticket had the correct numbers, 14, 7, 26, 31, 23 and Mega 5. If she had not turned in the ticket within the next 25 days, she would have lost the money, and the millions would have gone to California schools.

State officials used video from Michael's Market and Liquor, where the ticket was brought, to bring attention to it and try to identify her.

Store manager Ben Sadi said they have been waiting for the woman to come forward.

"We are glad to see the ticket claimed," Sadi said, adding it was sold three weeks after the store was opened.

"This is a lucky store. We have sold several other tickets with winners of $1,000 or $5,000."

Sadi said the store already has been paid its bonus of one half percent of the prize, or $115,000, for selling the winning ticket.

Since news of the winning ticket got out, business has picked up a lot.

"We are getting people driving 30-40-50 miles to come here and buy a ticket," Sadi said. "All our regular customers keep telling me to sell them the next big ticket."

Sadi said the Palmdale store is one of 23 they operate and the first to sell a ticket worth millions.

Lottery officials said the woman filed her claim on Thursday and it will take up to five weeks to issue her the first check.

A $52 million jackpot winner in Fremont was found in August by a similar public appeal.

"He and his wife saw a picture of him on the news that night and came in the next day to claim the prize," Traverso said.

In the last fiscal year, officials say more than $20.5 million in cash prizes went unclaimed.

News story photo(Click to display full-size in gallery)

AP, Lottery Post Staff

Comments

RedStang's avatarRedStang

Guess this answers the previous post on this story. LOL She did'nt have a warrant.

gocart1's avatargocart1

Wow..Thats so great just before the Christmas season....What a great stocking stuffer...lol

dallascowboyfan's avatardallascowboyfan

Glad she claimed the ticket congratulations to the winner....

hearsetrax's avatarhearsetrax

would've been funnier if she had fouled up

dr65's avatardr65

AWESOME! Good for her! Sitting in the car since the end of May...wow.

Artist77's avatarArtist77

Quote: Originally posted by dr65 on Nov 2, 2012

AWESOME! Good for her! Sitting in the car since the end of May...wow.

My question...a hypothetical...what if the numbers had faded in the sun and were unreadable or partially unreadable and only the long id type  # was visible. Would this be valid? Granted she was on the video but she still needed the ticket.

 

And I love the story!

sully16's avatarsully16

Congrats , glad she found it in time.

Jack-C's avatarJack-C

By claiming the ticket she denied California schools of $23M.  How selfish of her.

 

Just kiding...no flames please!

mcginnin56

Quote: Originally posted by Jack-C on Nov 2, 2012

By claiming the ticket she denied California schools of $23M.  How selfish of her.

 

Just kiding...no flames please!

I Agree!

She apparently has very little concern for the needy school children, shame on her!  No No

whiteballz's avatarwhiteballz

Quote: Originally posted by Artist77 on Nov 2, 2012

My question...a hypothetical...what if the numbers had faded in the sun and were unreadable or partially unreadable and only the long id type  # was visible. Would this be valid? Granted she was on the video but she still needed the ticket.

 

And I love the story!

yes she would still get the money. This woman tore her winning powerball ticket up and the lottery still gave her the money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32YqQPOphNs

whiteballz's avatarwhiteballz

now when I buy a lottery ticket, I'll be sure to look straight into the surveillance camera and flash them my pearly whites Big Smile

Jack-C's avatarJack-C

Quote: Originally posted by mcginnin56 on Nov 2, 2012

I Agree!

She apparently has very little concern for the needy school children, shame on her!  No No

LOL

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

Quote: Originally posted by RedStang on Nov 2, 2012

Guess this answers the previous post on this story. LOL She did'nt have a warrant.

LOL, RedStang. Instead, this BIG JACKPOT winner had a somewhat distinctive blouse on during ticket purchase AND and a super observant and loving daughter! 

Enjoy those monies, California gals! Love

Artist77's avatarArtist77

Quote: Originally posted by HaveABall on Nov 2, 2012

LOL, RedStang. Instead, this BIG JACKPOT winner had a somewhat distinctive blouse on during ticket purchase AND and a super observant and loving daughter! 

Enjoy those monies, California gals! Love

Do all lottery retailers have cameras?  Is it a requirement to sell lottery tickets? I have never noticed them when I buy my tickets.

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by whiteballz on Nov 2, 2012

now when I buy a lottery ticket, I'll be sure to look straight into the surveillance camera and flash them my pearly whites Big Smile

LOL> I always hold every ticket up next to my face upon purchase.  See Ya!

BobP's avatarBobP

Happens to me all the time, cept most of my tickets are losers I roll into balls and toss to the cats.

BobP

________________________

http://www.catfunvideos.com

imagine's avatarimagine

Quote: Originally posted by Jack-C on Nov 2, 2012

By claiming the ticket she denied California schools of $23M.  How selfish of her.

 

Just kiding...no flames please!

Another story on her says she has been on welfare for 20 yrs.  Hopefully it lasts or we may wish the schools did get it.

maringoman's avatarmaringoman

Quote: Originally posted by Artist77 on Nov 2, 2012

Do all lottery retailers have cameras?  Is it a requirement to sell lottery tickets? I have never noticed them when I buy my tickets.

I have never seen a convenience store in MA without security cameras. Maybe some of them are just decoys but they're always there.

Artist77's avatarArtist77

Quote: Originally posted by maringoman on Nov 3, 2012

I have never seen a convenience store in MA without security cameras. Maybe some of them are just decoys but they're always there.

Thanks. I will have to look around more next time.

jamella724

The woman just got so lucky to find her ticket just before the deadline ended...I like also the news that the lottery store is getting more patrons because of the news, that the jackpot winner bought the ticket there... How lucky they were...

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

Quote: Originally posted by imagine on Nov 3, 2012

Another story on her says she has been on welfare for 20 yrs.  Hopefully it lasts or we may wish the schools did get it.

I'd NEVER wish that any schools or school administrators got it to squander, and continue their past 100 year practice/tradition of being mainly hurtful and unhelpful to children legally forced to attend. Confused

I embrace the notion that it's this jackpot winner's to squander however she likes.  Hopefully, fully within the U.S.A.; since our employment economy has remained in DEEP do do this past thirteen years (housing this past five years).

US Flag

Artemis's avatarArtemis

This may be a silly question, but seeing all this time has gone by, why will it take the lottery more than a month to issue her first check??What?

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Quote: Originally posted by Artemis on Nov 3, 2012

This may be a silly question, but seeing all this time has gone by, why will it take the lottery more than a month to issue her first check??What?

Government and its agencies move with all the speed and agility of a Giant Three-Toed Sloth.

That's the way government's always been.

That's the way government will always be.

They know it, we know it, you know it, I know it.

Kinda like the lady at the Post Office with the ass that can carry a case of beer on top of it pulling down the roll-up window when there's two lines of people waiting to send packages at Christmas time, saying, "I'm going on break."

Ain't nothin' you can do about it.

pickone4me's avatarpickone4me

I guess stuffing tickets wherever ends up always being a winner months later,  only if your in california though!

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

The picture of the woman in the store is not the lady who claimed the prize, it's her daughter.

Seems like there's something missing in this story.

whiteballz's avatarwhiteballz

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Nov 4, 2012

The picture of the woman in the store is not the lady who claimed the prize, it's her daughter.

Seems like there's something missing in this story.

the mom gave her daughter money to buy the ticket. There is a tv interview on the interwebs. I would post the link but the last time I posted a link my message was deleted.

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Nov 3, 2012

Government and its agencies move with all the speed and agility of a Giant Three-Toed Sloth.

That's the way government's always been.

That's the way government will always be.

They know it, we know it, you know it, I know it.

Kinda like the lady at the Post Office with the ass that can carry a case of beer on top of it pulling down the roll-up window when there's two lines of people waiting to send packages at Christmas time, saying, "I'm going on break."

Ain't nothin' you can do about it.

That there's the long way around fer puttin "case" and "beer" together, but it workd fer me.......

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Nov 3, 2012

Government and its agencies move with all the speed and agility of a Giant Three-Toed Sloth.

That's the way government's always been.

That's the way government will always be.

They know it, we know it, you know it, I know it.

Kinda like the lady at the Post Office with the ass that can carry a case of beer on top of it pulling down the roll-up window when there's two lines of people waiting to send packages at Christmas time, saying, "I'm going on break."

Ain't nothin' you can do about it.

I Agree!

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by Artemis on Nov 3, 2012

This may be a silly question, but seeing all this time has gone by, why will it take the lottery more than a month to issue her first check??What?

I think its a good question....... 

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