Mystery lotto winner has just 1 week left to claim £300,000 prize before it vanishes – are YOU sitting on a jackpot?
LOTTO CLAIM
The ticket was purchased on October 24, 2024
MOST of us would go quite a long way to get £10,000 a month for the next 30 years.
But one lucky lotto winner is on the verge of losing just that if they don't claim their prize in the next week.
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The winning ticket will expire on April 22, if the hefty cash sum is not claimed beforehand.
It was purchased on October 24, 2024, and won the top prize in the National Lottery's Set For Life draw.
The winning numbers were 2, 11, 29, 37, 45 and Life Ball 6.
The unclaimed cash has sparked a mini-manhunt in Sevenoaks, Kent, where the winning ticket was purchased.
Residents of the town have seen a giant replica of the National Lottery Set For Life winning ticket, along with oversized newspapers, reminding the town of the money at stake.
This is the second major effort by the National Lottery to scout the winner, after the group tried to track down the winner at Sevenoaks train station last month.
Commuters were met with bespoke signs, special announcements voiced by a previous winner and messages displayed on the platforms’ electronic information boards reminding the winner of their prize.
Kathy Garrett, who advises winners of the National Lottery, said: “This kind of prize not only transforms the life of the winner, it’s typically life-changing for their loved ones too.
“With just days to go, we’re doing everything in our power to make sure this mystery person or syndicate comes forward, so they can enjoy the endless possibilities this prize offers.”
She added: “We once had a very fortunate builder who came forward not long before his ticket was due to expire.
“He won over £50 million and had left the winning ticket in the sun visor of his work van. I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to search the places you’d least expect.”
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for National Lottery operator Allwyn said: “While the National Lottery is committed to finding the winning ticket-holder, if the prize remains unclaimed the prize money, plus all the interest it has generated, will go to help National Lottery-funded projects across the UK.
“This will add to the £30 million-plus raised every week by National Lottery players to make a difference in every community across the country.”
The search for the mystery Sevenoaks winner comes after a £500,000 jackpot was left unclaimed last year.
The unknown ticket-holder from Redditch, Worcestershire never came forward to collect his huge Thunderball prize, despite attempts to find them.
Similarly, many previous winners have lost their winnings after throwing their tickets in the bin, leaving them forgotten in their glovebox, or having them just somehow vanish into thin air.
Martyn Tott from Watford, Hertfordshire, missed out on a £3m lottery jackpot after he lost his ticket.
Despite computer records proving the ticket was his, Martyn - then aged 25 - lost out on the cash as he couldn't show his physical slip.
The purchasing manager and his wife Kay only realised they had won six months after the numbers were called, at which point they couldn't find the ticket they bought.
Going to their local Londis, they proved via its records that they had purchased the winning ticket in 2001 but were still refused the money after 45 agonising days of waiting.
This all came as they hadn't registered the loss of the paper slip within 30 days.
Devastated by the loss, his marriage to Kay quickly broke down and he briefly joined a Christian cult in the US as his life spiralled out of control.
Martyn told the Mail on Sunday: "Having that money taken away was torture.
"For a long time I lost sight of who I was and what I believed in."
EVERYONE wants to know how to beat the odds and win the lottery.
But unfortunately, the lottery is a game of luck and there are no tips or tricks that can guarantee you'll take home a top prize.
The odds show how likely you are to win any particular prize - the lower the number, the better the odds.
For example, odds of 1 in 10 are better than odds of 1 in 100 or 1 in 1,000.
There are several major lottery games in the UK including Lotto by the National Lottery, Camelot's EuroMillions and Thunderball.
Chances of winning the Lotto
Lotto by the National Lottery is a game where you pick six numbers from 1 to 59. You can play up to seven lines of numbers on each slip.
The game costs £2 to play per slip.
The odds of winning any prize on the Lotto are 1 in 9.3.
But to win the jackpot on the Lotto, the odds are considerably slimmer.
To bag the top prize, you need to have six matching balls. The odds of doing this and scooping the jackpot are currently 1 in 45,057,474.
The next highest prize of £1,000,000 is for getting five main matching balls plus the bonus ball.
The odds of taking home the million pound prize are 1 in 7,509,579 - far higher than the jackpot, but still unlikely.
The odds of taking home £1,750 for getting five main numbers without the bonus ball are 1 in 2,180, while you have a 1 in 97 chance of bagging £140 for getting four main numbers.
Your chances of taking home £30 for getting 3 main numbers are much better at 1 in 97.
And you have a roughly 1 in 10 chance of getting a free lucky dip for 2 matching numbers.
Chances of winning the EuroMillions
The EuroMillions costs £2.50 to play and is open on Tuesdays and Fridays.
To play, you must pick five numbers from 1-50 and two "Lucky Stars" from 1-12. Players with the most matching numbers win the top prizes.
Your chance of bagging the EuroMillions jackpot is even slimmer than winning the top Lotto prize.
This is because it generally has higher jackpots on offer, meaning it attracts more attention.
Currently, the odds of matching five numbers and two lucky stars - the top win - stand at 1 in 139,838,160.
The average jackpot prize is £57,923,499, according to EuroMillions.
The odds of winning the second top prize for matching 5 balls and a lucky star, which is typically around £262,346, are 1 in 6,991,908.
The chances of taking home the third prize for five matching balls, with an average payout of £26,277, are 1 in 3,107,515.
For four matching balls with two lucky stars, it's 1 in 621,503, and for four balls with one lucky star, it's 1 in 31,076. These come with an average prize of £1,489 and £95, respectively.
Chances of winning the Thunderball
Thunderball is another game run by National Lottery where you pick five numbers and one "Thunderball". It costs just £1 to play and you can enter up to four times a week.
The jackpot of £500,000 for matching five balls plus the Thunderball is 1 in 8,060,598.
Your odds of bagging the next highest prize of £5,000 for matching five balls is currently 1 in 620,046, while the chances of winning £250 for four balls plus the Thunderball is 1 in 47,416.
You have the best chance of winning £3 for matching the Thunderball, with odds of 1 in 29.
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