Dozens of people have claimed to be the owner of winning $55 million Powerball ticket
DOZENS of people have come forward claiming to be the owner of a $55 million lotto ticket. But there’s one question that officials ask to find out ‘straight away’ if customers are lying.
VIC News
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DOZENS of people have come forward claiming to be the owner of one Victoria’s largest ever winning Tattslotto ticket.
But almost a month after the winning numbers were drawn, the $55 million prize money remains unclaimed.
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Staff at the Brunswick newsagent Scole Lotto and News, which sold the unregistered Powerball ticket, say a large number of people had called or come into the store professing to be the owner of the ticket.
“Most say they lost it or washed it,” Jimena Cardozo said.
Ms Cardozo said she and other employees at the Sydney Rd newsagent could tell “straight away” if customers were lying or not.
“Nobody knows the time the ticket was bought, so that’s how we know if they’re telling the truth or not,” she said.
Those wanting to cash in on the Powerball ticket must be able to narrow down the time of purchase to a 20 minute window and fill out a lost or damaged claim form through Tattslotto.
Tatts spokeswoman Bronnie Spencer said all legitimate prize claims received were thoroughly investigated but was unable to say how many lost and damaged ticket request they had received for privacy reasons.
As each week passes the $55 million unclaimed Powerball prize continues to break new ground for lottery records as the single largest unclaimed prize in the nation’s history.
If unclaimed within six months, the prize will be forwarded to the State Revenue Office Victoria.
The winner can still claim the funds after that time, provided they have proof the ticket belonged to them.
Tatts will today launch a renewed effort to track down the mystery identity of the new multi-millionaire and is imploring anyone who purchased an a ticket from the Brunswick newsagent to check their entry.
Ms Cardozo said she didn’t think the rightful owner would claim the prizemoney instore in a bid to avoid attention.
“They might not want to make a big show … but anything could happen,” she said.
“Maybe someone will just find an old ticket they bought lying around — you never know!” she said.
The winning numbers in Powerball draw 1130 on Thursday 11 January 2018 were 32, 7, 5, 34, 38 and 11, while the all-important Powerball number was 12.