We regularly bring you news of unclaimed lottery prizes, urging the importance of checking lottery tickets in good time. That single scrap of paper could be worth a life-changing sum, so it’s important to check the results as soon as possible before the prize expires or you could miss out.
This is exactly what would have happened to 68-year-old grandfather Jimmie Smith from New Jersey, who found a lottery ticket in his shirt that was almost a year old. When he checked the results he found that the ticket was worth a massive $24,000,000, but he only had two days left to claim!
The grandfather has been buying lottery tickets in New York and New Jersey for 50 years but in that time has never really rushed to check the results. This time he had collected a pile of old tickets in his shirt and realised that lottery officials were looking for a big winner on the news. With that he checked the old tickets and realised he was holding the one they were looking for!
The ticket, which had just two days left on the claim date is worth $24,000,000, a prize Smith has now collected, but had it not been for the media appeal, or just two more days had passed, he would have lost this prize forever!
When asked how he’d spend the cash, Smith said he intended on having a discussion with his whole family before making any decisions. Smith has also unusually opted for the annuity payment, which means he’ll receive his payout in instalments over the next 26 years.