Woman Loses Lotto Ticket, Finds Out It's Worth $47 Million
Man, if I had $47 million for every time I lost a lottery ticket, I'd be Kathryn Jones.
Jones, of Hamilton, Ontario, purchased a Lotto Max ticket over a year ago, and then promptly lost it.
She had completely forgotten about it until last week, when lottery officials showed up at her door just two days before the claim cutoff to tell her she'd won the jackpot: $50 million (~US$47 million).
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) spent many long months waiting for the winning ticket holder to come forward until, one day, a false claim inadvertently led them to the convenience store where Jones bought her ticket.
A lengthy investigation was launched involving surveillance footage, time stamps, and credit card receipts that ultimately led OLG investigators to Jones's house.
"We weren't sure we wanted to let them in the house," Jones told CBC News. "Then they showed us their ID, so they came in and sat down and started asking a number of questions."
After confirming Jones's identity, OLG's agents informed her she had just spent the past year being an unwitting millionaire.
"I feel almost as though I have been struck by lightning twice because first to win is pretty incredible, but then to lose a ticket and then to have OLG find me and take the initiative to actually contact me is also pretty incredible," Jones told reporters at a Tuesday press conference.
Jones will have to wait another 30 days in order to collect her prize, but what's another 30 days.
