News — Lottery

A woman who claims to be the winner of a $26 million lottery ticket says she may have literally washed it down the drain. The unnamed California woman said she purchased the lottery ticket at a Norwalk ARCO AM/PM convenience store six months ago.

According to her, she put the ticket into the pockets of her pant and unfortunately forgot to take it out while doing the laundry. She reportedly walked into the store and claimed to have accidentally washed the ticket down the drain, according to news.

A California Lottery Center spokeswoman, Cathy Johnston, says at least six people have turned in a non-ticket claim to the lottery office. She adds that the woman did not bring the ticket in by the 5:00 pm deadline. The winning numbers were 23, 36, 12, 31, 13 and the mega number was 10.

To win the prize, Johnston says you must show “compelling substantial proof you were in possession of the ticket.” She adds that “every claim of this size, if it is not turned in, will be investigated.”

The store’s manager reportedly told KTLA-TV that surveillance video showed that the woman indeed purchased the ticket and that she is well known to the store workers.

The store has subsequently given a copy of the surveillance video to the California Lottery Centre. However, Johnston says store surveillance video is not considered reliable proof.

According to the official, a more compelling proof would be a photograph of the lottery showing the front and back of the ticket. Johnston adds that if no one successfully claims the $26 million cash prize, some $19 million cash option will go into education.

The Los Angeles Times reports that there are several instances where big money jackpots have gone unclaimed. In 2015, the winner of a $26 million jackpot never stepped foot to claim it. Also, three other pots of $20 million from the California Lottery have not been claimed since 1997.

A North Carolina woman who won a massive $188 million Powerball jackpot lottery in 2015 is being sued by her currently incarcerated ex-fiancé for allegedly giving away gifts and other property she bought for him – with her own money.

Marie Holmes, then a 26-year-old mother of four, made headlines in 2015 as she became the largest jackpot winner in the state at the time. After scooping the jackpot, Holmes opted to go in for the lump sum of $127 million, though she eventually took home $88 million after tax deductions, as reported. She was dating her now incarcerated ex-fiancé, Lamar McDow, when she won the jackpot.

Months before Holmes became an overnight millionaire, McDow was facing legal woes as he had been arrested for allegedly trafficking heroin and was on bail awaiting trial. Though McDow violated his bail conditions many times after Holmes won the jackpot and landed back in jail on each occasion, his bond was always paid no matter the amount as his fiancée always stepped in. Holmes reportedly paid over $15 million in bond and spent around $600,000 in fees for the services of bail bondsmen. Aside from that, Holmes also showered McDow with gifts and also opened a business for him.

Per the lawsuit, McDow said he met Holmes when she was “working at McDonald’s and living with her mother and three kids in a single-wide mobile home,” WECT reported. The pair had two children while they were together. After Holmes won the jackpot, McDow – in the lawsuit – said Holmes bought him gifts including a $250,000 modified Chevrolet Stingray, clothes and jewelry amounting to $100,000, among others. McDow also stated Holmes opened a $600,000 auto restoration business for him. Though the business and vehicle are in Holmes’ name, McDow said Holmes bought them for him.

McDow received a seven-year prison sentence for his 2014 drug trafficking charges in 2016. Before beginning his prison term, he made Holmes his agent through a power of attorney, WECT reported. They were engaged at that time.

“Mr. McDow authorized Ms. Holmes to store, maintain, and protect his real and personal property during his incarceration,” the lawsuit alleged. While incarcerated, Holmes also gave birth to their second child.

The lawsuit stated they broke up in 2017 and subsequently grew distant, with McDow alleging he later got to know Holmes was romantically involved with another person through a friend. McDow also alleged Holmes gave away the gifts she purchased for him and closed down his business.

“Each unauthorized gift, conveyance, or transfer of Mr. McDow’s personal property was without his knowledge or consent and without consideration ceding to Mr. McDow… Ms. Holmes failed to act openly, fairly, and honestly by secretly giving away the items identified as Mr. McDow’s personal property,” the lawsuit stated.

McDow is seeking punitive damages as well as compensation from Holmes for giving away his supposed assets, according to WECT. “Ms. Holmes unconditional obligation to act in the best interests of Mr. McDow didn’t stop because Ms. Holmes and Mr. McDow’s relationship ended,” the complaint alleged.

Holmes and McDow had a publicly tumultuous relationship following her jackpot winning. In a 2016 interview, McDow defended Holmes repeatedly spending millions to bail him. The pair were engaged at the time.

“If I had that money then I would do the same for her,” he said. “People are just jealous because of how much she won, and people want to see me locked in jail.”

“She [Holmes] is standing by her man,” he added. McDow will reportedly be released in 2023.

A Coventry-based couple who won a £1 million (around $1.3M) Euromillions jackpot in 2017 made a charitable gesture to hundreds of homeless people affected by the current COVID-19 lockdown in England by offering them a dish that was inspired by a Caribbean curry from St. Lucia.

The couple, 60-year-old Bill Mullarkey and Cath, 59, paired with chef Jim Eaves – a volunteer for the humanitarian aid organization Langar Aid – to prepare the Caribbean-inspired dish, Mail Online reported. Cath happens to come from St. Lucia, so that explains the inspiration behind the meal. The couple, who are also chefs by profession, bought the ingredients for the dish in addition to snacks and drinks.

The couple told the news outlet they were inspired to lend a helping hand to the homeless after they saw volunteers hand out pizzas to lorry drivers who were stranded in the English county of Kent in December.

“I saw the Langar Aid guys on the TV dishing out meals to stranded lorry drivers on the M20 over Christmas. I was inspired and wanted to help them look after homeless people in Coventry,” Bill said. “Ordinarily Cath and I would have gone into the kitchens and cooked everything but working with Stuart was the best way of still making a difference while minimizing contact.

“As Cath is from St Lucia we went for a Caribbean curry. A vegetable and coconut curry with a side order of rice and peas plus drinks,” he added. “We also handed over lots of chocolate bars as treats.”

Cath also explained how they went about preparing the vegetarian dish and also commended the work of the volunteers.

“Jim was brilliant. We chatted through meal ideas, the ingredients because everything is vegetarian, even the cutlery,” she said. “He and the other volunteers give up their spare time and stand out in all weathers; it’s so cold at the moment, a lot colder than St Lucia and I am in awe of the work they do.

“That’s why Bill and I wanted to also give something to the volunteers as well to say thank you.”

This, however, isn’t the first time the couple have provided free meals, Mail Online reported. In 2019, they curated and prepared a three-course Caribbean-inspired meal for 100 pensioners to mark the Christmas festivities.

The couple got to know about their surprising lottery-winning ticket after they received an email from the lottery company. Bill said he was initially reluctant to open the email as he thought it was spam and was on the verge of deleting it until his granddaughter convinced him to open it. He also said he initially saw the email while he was in his wife’s native St. Lucia but was unable to check its content until he returned to the UK after over two weeks.

They initially thought they had won £10,000 (around $13,000) or £100,000 (around $136,000) but received the shock of their lives when they were told it was actually £1 million ($1.3M).

“I got an e-mail when we were in St Lucia from the National Lottery and I just had a look on our return last Wednesday,” he recalled. “I spoke to a young lady on the phone and then waited for a few minutes, which felt like forever, and then she said we had won £1 million.

“At that moment there was such excitement in the house and lots of screaming. We celebrated with a nice cup of tea and I didn’t sleep all night, it just wouldn’t sink in.”

After winning the lottery, the couple had initially said they planned on purchasing their second home in St. Lucia and also helping a nephew who got paralyzed after an accident in the Caribbean nation.