It goes without saying that you need a lot of luck to win the lottery - but one man had even more good fortune after he found his £19.1million ($24.1million) winning ticket a mere 48 hours before it expired.
Retired Jimmie Smith, 68, had picked out a set of numbers on the New York Lottery more than a year before he discovered that he'd won. The ticket was then stuffed inside the pocket of an old shirt hanging in his closet along with a bundle of other unchecked lottery tickets.
The New Jersey resident half forgot about them but was always planning to go through each one, at some point. "I always told myself, ‘I’ll check them when I have the time,’” the millionaire said. Little did he know that he'd been staggeringly rich for the past 12 months without even realising it.
READ MORE: Man who got £22m from 40p lottery ticket shares five things you must do if you win
The grandad of 12 said he planned to have a chat with his family about what to do with his winnings (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Back in 2016, the winning numbers for the May 25 draw were: 05 - 12 - 13 - 22 - 25 - 35. And while the New York Gaming Commission knew the winning ticket was sold at a bodega in New York City, it had no idea who bought the ticket.
London, New York and Europe welcome New Year; plus pics from around the world
Winners have one year to claim the prize and with the expiration date coming up close, the New York Lottery decided it was time to publicise the unclaimed lottery winnings - otherwise somebody was going to be enormously out of pocket. “We urge New York Lottery players: Check your pockets. Check your glove box. Look under the couch cushions. If you have this winning ticket, we look forward to meeting you,” Gweneth Dean, director of the Commission’s Division of the Lottery, said in 2017.
Thankfully, former security officer Jimmie saw the news story about the mystery winner, which in turn encouraged him to finally check all his languishing tickets. He told CNN once he realised all his numbers matched that he, "stood there for a minute thinking, ‘Do I see what I think I see?’”
For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US
He added: “I had to stick my head out the window and breathe in some fresh air. I was in serious doubt. I really had to convince myself this was real.” All this happened on May 23 and if it had have been on May 25 he would have been ineligible to collect his winnings.
After reviewing Jimmie's ticket, the lottery released his name and announced: "We are thrilled that this lucky winner was able to locate this life-changing ticket." The dad-of-two, who has 12 grandchildren, chose to receive his payments over the course of 26 years and said that he planned to have an “all-family discussion” once things calmed down.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
