SOUTH Australia's two biggest unclaimed lotto prizes have both been sold from the same newsagency.
The mystery winner of a $25 million Oz Lotto prize drawn this week bought the lucky ticket from Campbell's Newsagency in Morphett Vale.
In February 1996, the same shop, then known as Dunk's Newsagency, sold a $725,000 winning ticket that has never been claimed.
Agency manager Shannon Phelan said speculation was rife about the unclaimed prizes.
"The agency was owned by different people when that first big prize was sold but it's the same agency. It's spooky. We're not really sure what's going on," Ms Phelan said.
SA Lotteries spokeswoman Bernadette Tieste said an average $3 million worth of lottery prize money went unclaimed in South Australia every year.
Winners have 12 months to claim a prize. However, people could still stake a claim after this time if they produced a ticket or precise details and circumstances of the claim.
Ms Tieste said there had been other cases of people who had lost their tickets and not come forward.
In 2001, a man who had been playing the same numbers for years won a $460,000 Division One prize but lost his ticket and couldn't bring himself to tell his wife, family or friends.
But more than a year later, the man found the ticket at the back of a wardrobe and happily claimed his prize.
Theories as to why the $25 million winner has yet to come forward include that he or she is simply unaware of the win, is on holiday, is keeping the windfall a secret or, in the manner of the film Waking Ned Devine, has even suffered a heart attack and died from the shock of it.
Half of South Australia's unclaimed lottery prize money is returned to the State Hospitals Fund towards maintenance and equipment.
The remainder is retained by SA Lotteries for "providing increased prizes in subsequent lotteries, prizes in promotional lotteries or making ex-gratia prize payments".
Last month, Australia's previously largest unclaimed lottery prize of $23 million was finally paid out in Queensland after almost three years.
More than 200 people came forward to stake their claim to the massive prize but only 10 were taken seriously.
A 12-month investigation involving detectives, forensic accountants, lawyers, government agencies and security camera footage finally settled the mystery.
South Australia's $25 million winner is an unregistered player who bought a seven-game Easi-Pick ticket for $7.55 for Tuesday night's Oz Lotto draw.
All seven of the player's numbers came up – 17, 8, 43, 45, 25, 12 and 1 – beating a one in 45,379,620 chance of winning.
"Usually, big prizes like this are claimed within days. Winners come forward pretty soon," Ms Tieste said.
"There's lots of speculation going around at the moment. It could be any possible scenario. It's pretty interesting but hopefully the winner will just come forward.
"We would encourage people to write their name and address on any unregistered ticket because if that ticket is lost and someone else finds it, it's theirs."
Ms Tieste said reasons given for missing tickets included puppies and rabbits eating them, being thrown in the bin, flying out the car window or going through the wash.
Ms Phelan said newsagency customers were abuzz with theories.
"Customers come in and tell us their stories and what they think happened to the ($725,000) ticket," she said.
"I've had a couple of people tell me they accidentally threw it out.
"One woman told me she threw the winning ticket out here at the agency and searched through all the bins out the back trying to find it.
"I have thought maybe it's an older person who has passed away and family have cleaned up and thrown everything away.
"As for the $25 million winner, either they are just waiting for everything to calm down or they might be a weekly customer and haven't checked their ticket yet.
"But maybe they have just forgotten. We do have a lot of elderly customers around here." |
