Californian woman says $26 million worth lottery ticket destroyed in the laundry

The winner of a $26 million California lottery prize did not redeem the money and washed away all the fortune coming her way. According to the reports by AP, the winning SuperLotto Plus ticket was sold at an Arco AM/PM convenience store in the Los Angeles suburb of Norwalk. Thursday, May 13, was the last day to redeem it. However, nobody showed up at the store to redeem it. 

According to the reports by Whittier Daily News, store employee Esperanza Hernandez said that a woman came in on Wednesday and told workers that she had put the ticket in her pants and it was destroyed in the laundry. As per the manager, the surveillance video showed the woman who bought the ticket. Also, she is known to store workers. As per the manager, a copy of the surveillance video was turned over to California lottery officials. 

As per the officials, the winner must complete a claim form. If someone loses a ticket, they should be able to provide evidence that they owned it, maybe a photograph of the front and back of the ticket. As per the reports by AP, the winning numbers were: 23, 36, 12, 31, 13, with the mega number of 10. The $26m prize can be taken in annual installments or as a $19.7m cash option.If the prize isn’t claimed, the amount will go to California public schools. Also, the store that sold the ticket will receive a $130,000 bonus.

“Ohio Vax-a-Million”

In another significant incident,  Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has come up with various incentives, including, $1 million prizes and full-ride scholarships to public colleges. During a statewide televised address, DeWine announced that 5 vaccinated adults would be chosen at random to each receive a $1 million prize as part of the “Ohio Vax-a-Million” lottery. He said, “The pool of names for the drawing will be derived from the Ohio secretary of state’s publicly available voter registration database”. The drawing of winners will be held over five consecutive Wednesdays starting May 26.

Ohio residents who are at least 18 years of age and have been vaccinated before the drawings will be eligible to win. As per DeWine, a separate incentive would be made available to the children who are vaccinated. Taking to Twitter, he wrote, “I know that some may say, ‘DeWine, you’re crazy! This million-dollar drawing idea of yours is a waste of money.’ But truly, the real waste at this point in the pandemic ― when the vaccine is readily available to anyone who wants it ― is a life lost to COVID-19”.

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