Time is running out in the case of the largest unclaimed lottery jackpot in Canadian history.
A Lotto Max ticket purchased on Nov. 30, 2012, at an unnamed store in Cambridge, won a $50-million prize – but nobody has ever come forward with the winning ticket.
Under Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. rules, the rightful winner has until one year after the draw – until Nov. 30 of this year – to cash in.
“We still have a month to go, and you never know what can happen in a month. Someone might come forward,” says OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti.
With another $50-million jackpot up for grabs Friday night, the missing ticket is once again back in the spotlight.
“A lot of people come to buy tickets when it’s a $50-million draw,” notes Chintan Patel, who works at the Daisy Mart on Queen Street in Cambridge.
Daisy Mart customer Rob Brace says he plays Lotto Max every week, and has no idea why last year’s winning ticket hasn’t been redeemed.
“Anyone who’s got it would be crazy not to look for it and cash it in,” he tells CTV News.
Over at Cambridge’s King Street Variety, Harinder Nayyar wonders if the winning ticket could have been bought by a visitor who never bothered to look up the winning numbers.
“Maybe somebody buys from outside (Cambridge) and doesn’t check,” he says.
“Or maybe he’s waiting for the last day.”
Bitonti says OLG knows exactly when and where the ticket was bought, but keeps that information confidential to help verify claims on the ticket.
“They have to give us that information so that we can ensure we are paying the right prize to the right person,” he says.
Nayyar says his customers talked a lot about the missing ticket in the first couple months after the draw, but he’s heard little since then.
