UPDATE: Lottery officials told Arrow Lakes News on March 27 the winning tickets had been sold elsewhere.
Someone in Nakusp may have a lot more spare cash than they think.
The BC Lotteries Corporation has contacted the owners of Carson’s Corners, letting the general store know someone purchased a winning Lotto Max ticket there on December 22.
“They didn’t say the size of the prize, just that it was a ‘substantial amount’,” says Mike Smith, the grocery store owner.
The BCLC website says the jackpot on the December 22nd draw was about $60 million, but that was claimed by a Quebec resident.
However, there were about 21 lesser prizes of $1 million to be won, and not all of those have been claimed.
“So we hope everyone looks hard and can find that winning ticket,” says Smith. “Someone here could be a millionaire.”
Smith says store records show the ticket was purchased with cash, so they can’t trace the number through their transactions, and their security cameras only go back two weeks.
None of the staff remembers selling the ticket, says Smith, because “it was right at the busy season, right before Christmas.”
“So there were a lot of lottery tickets sold, a lot of people gift them, so it could have got thrown into wrapping paper or could be in somebody’s stocking,” he says.
“I’d check your stockings. It’s worth a look.”
Officials with BC Lotteries say any winner still has time to find the ticket.
“People have 52 weeks to come forward to start the prize-claiming process,” says Angela Law, a media spokesman for BCLC. “It’s not uncommon for players to forget they had purchased a ticket.”
