Lottery players have just 24 hours to claim £50,000 with prize expiring tomorrow

21 November 2023 , 13:22

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The £50,000 prize draw will expire in 24 hours after going unclaimed for six months (Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

One of Florida’s lottery players has won $65,000 (£51,000) and now has a mere 24 hours to come forward.

The yet-to-be-claimed fortune is set to reach its due date for its owner to step forward and accept the fifty grand prize, after it has been left untouched for almost six months.

Shoppers in the Port St. Lucie area are encouraged to check their pockets and the back of their couches. To be specific, the FANTASY 5 ticket was bought in May of this year. The Quick-Pick ticket was picked up at the Shell Food Mart located at 1924 SW Gatlin Blvd. Everyone is encouraged to triple-check their ticket for the following lucky digits: 13, 20, 22, 32, 35.

The exact amount of $64,564.01 prize will expire tomorrow, Wednesday 22nd. The withdrawal deadline is always within 180 days of the applicable draw date, in this case, May 26, 2023.

For this reason, billions of dollars in lottery prizes go unclaimed every year and swathes of Americans lose out on their small fortunes, across the country. For example, one lottery player in Ohio won and subsequently lost $4 million after failing their winnings before the ticket’s all-important expiration date.

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The time is ticking for one Florida lottery winner to come forward (AFP via Getty Images)

Similarly, lottery officials in Iowa were forced to go on a manhunt when a $2million Powerball prize went unclaimed. Secondary prizes are issued for tickets that contain a few, but not all of the jackpot numbers. Jacobson noted that there were 115 prizes worth $1million that went unclaimed in 2015.

This news comes after one lottery winner who bagged a whopping $70 million was forced to fight to help her and other winners keep their identities secret after her life changed unexpectedly. Cristy Davis, from Michigan, had her life turned upside down in 2020 when she won the jackpot, but it wasn't all good news as she fell victim to identity theft, and was targeted by scammers who took money from their victims.

In August one lottery player won an amazing $1,000 a day for life prize but made a massive decision that will change how they get their winnings. The Albany based winner formed a company to claim the prize after matching all six numbers drawn in the New York Lottery Cash4life drawing on August 14. The winner, who is currently unknown, opted to claim the prize in one go, instead of the daily allowance.

This means they have been granted a one-time payment of $4,285,683 to their company, Pinkey Esmond Limited Liability Company, SLive reports. The winning numbers were 13, 27, 28, 52, 59 and Cash Ball 01. The ticket was purchased at Church Bluye Sky Deli on 2021 Church Ave in Brooklyn.

Emilia Randall