There could be two lucky British Columbians out there sitting on winning lottery tickets – and one of them only has a few days to come forward and claim their prize.
The province's latest jackpot was announced Friday night, when a Lotto Max ticket purchased in south Delta won a whopping $39.5 million. Days later, the B.C. Lottery Corporation said the winner remains a mystery.
"We're just waiting now for that person to come forward," spokesperson Evan Kelly said. "Typically we see people come in fairly quickly. It's unusual that someone waits a long time."
It may be rare for lottery players to let big-money tickets gather dust, but the BCLC is currently waiting on the winner of another draw from way back in January.
That Lotto 6/49 ticket, which was purchased somewhere in Victoria for the Jan. 3, 2018 draw, will become worthless later this week if nobody speaks up.
"That ticket expires in three days because winners have 52 weeks from the date on the ticket to come and claim their prize," Kelly said.
"We're encouraging everybody to look everywhere they might have stored a ticket – glove boxes, wallets, jackets you haven't worn in a year. Look for that ticket, because it's out there."
It’s also possible the winning ticket was lost or thrown away by accident.
Though lottery fantasies can be tempting, the odds of winning a Lotto Max draw are infinitesimal at just one in 28,633,528, according to the BCLC.
