Lotto warning as £500k STILL unclaimed with just days left for winner to grab jackpot before it’s gone FOREVER
IT’S something many of us dream about – a life-changing six-figure win on a lottery ticket.
But one lucky Thunderball player has still not claimed their £500,000 prize from matching 5+ numbers on December 8 last year – with the deadline for cashing it in swiftly approaching.
The ticket was bought in Redditch, Worcestershire, and the lucky buyer has just days left to claim their reward.
The winning numbers for the December 8 Thunderball draw were 2, 15, 31, 35, 37, and Thunderball 6.
The final date when the winner will be eligible to claim is June 5.
It comes after a National Lottery boss who has handled £2billion worth of wins revealed how a big scoop can be both a blessing – and a curse.
Over 18 years, Andy Carter, 50, has helped more than 2,000 people who landed prizes of more than £50,000 adjust to their new lifestyles.
But while winners are understandably delighted upon discovering they’re in the money, Andy says that any existing personality or relationship problems tend to get even worse.
He said these will not be solved by a lotto win, and could well become even worse.
While relationships can break down following a big win, Andy says these couples would have also likely split up if the win never happened.
He told This is Money: “It’s part of life – the lottery just exaggerates it.”
Andy and his team of advisers are banned from entering the draw themselves.
He introduces winners to financial experts who help them plan for the future, and discuss what they can do with their newfound wealth.
While winners can turn down the expert help roughly 90% accept the offer of speaking with a financial planner, Andy says.
And while lotto players may dream about splurging for a luxury sports car or something equally extravagant, reality can quickly dispell these fantasies.
Andy said: “Can you fit a pram in the back of a sports car?
“Some winners hire a sports car for a weekend and then realise it wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
LOTTO WINNER NEAR-MISSES
Lotto winners up and down the country have shared tales of when they almost lost their winnings before even being able to spend it because of little-known rules or family members thinking it’s a scam.
MUM IS NOT ALWAYS RIGHT
Joanne Jobson from Hartlepool, County Durham, snagged the top prize on Set For Life and now banks £10,000 every month – and will do for the next three decades.
But the hardworking carer revealed how she almost missed out on the prize money after her mum believed it was a scam.
After Joanne checked her account and discovered she had won an jaw-dropping amount of money, she rushed to tell her mum, who she lives with.
She said: “I jumped out of bed and went to tell my mum.
“I remember just saying to mum ‘I think I might have won a lot of money’ and showing her my phone.
“Mum was convinced it was a scam, so I googled the winning Set For Life numbers for the same date to see if they matched – which of course they did.”
It was only when Joanne got through to staff at the National Lottery that she was able to confirm that her life had changed forever.
A MOVING OUT GIFT
Lucky punter Alan Jones, 56, had almost axed his ticket for his sold Tyne and Wear property.
Instead, on the last day in his home, Jones’ Westerhope postcode struck gold with him and five other neighbours who all netted £166,666 each.
Jones said: “I was going to cancel my ticket and renew it wherever I end up. Thank goodness I didn’t.
“I’ve got to be out by 2pm tomorrow and I’m basically packing up the house now because I need a new start. This has helped give me that.”
CHECK YOUR LOTTO BALANCE
Euromillions winner Ian Anderson scooped a £1million jackpot prize, but nearly missed out on the life-changing win.
Ian Anderson, 77, and wife Marlyn, 70, bagged the massive sum after copping the fateful £2.50 Lucky Dip ticket.
The elderly couple only had £4.90 left in their National Lottery account before they opted to take a chance on the jackpot.
Marlyn, who now cares for her terminally ill husband after he was sadly diagnosed with pleural plaques and pulmonary fibrosis, always plays the Lottery but had no idea that one day she would win big.
She recalled: “I just thought there is no point £4.90 just sitting in my account, I will buy a lucky dip ticket for the next draw.
“It was the day after the draw that I saw an email saying there was good news about my ticket.”
LISTEN TO YOUR GUT
Tamsin Burling, 33, admitted to learning a big lesson after scooping £83,000 on the lottery
The mum, who won her share of £1million alongside her Kent neighbors, said her fiancé Craig Billington once tried to convince her not to buy a ticket.
But she ignored him and now they’ve scooped tens of thousands of pounds.
Craig, 32, looked on sheepishly as Tamsin, who at the time was seven months pregnant with their third child, celebrated the five-figure win.
And earlier this week, The Sun reported how a lucky mum who won £83,000 on the People’s Postcode Lottery was terrified she could lose it all.
Georgina Riley, 39, a university events coordinator, revealed her shower had fallen off the wall the night before her street in Newthorpe, Nottinghamshire won the jackpot.
Despite her initial elation at the windfall, she admitted: “It feels surreal, I was waiting for Ant and Dec to leap out and say that this isn’t real.”
Signs of trouble didn’t stop there.
“I do get weird feelings,” she confessed. “The Northern Lights were over my house on my birthday, and now I’ve won the lottery.”
She added: “The shower fell off the wall last night. Paul’s convinced I pulled it off, but I didn’t pull it off.”
Lucky Brit scoops £3.9MILLION in jackpot
A LUCKY Brit has scooped a £3.9 million National Lottery jackpot in Saturday’s draw.
The player matched all six main numbers to win £3,967,428 in total.
No players managed to match five numbers and the bonus ball to collect £1 million.
Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at The National Lottery, said: “Brilliant news, one lucky ticket-holder has won tonight’s £3.9 million Lotto jackpot.
“Lotto has already created seven brand new millionaires this month.”
Mr Carter advised players to check their tickets and call The National Lottery to claim the jackpot prize.
The estimated jackpot for Wednesday’s Lotto draw now stands at £2 million.
The winning numbers were 9, 13, 22, 45, 46, 48 and the bonus number was 29.
Set of balls 3 and draw machine Guinevere were used.
Further down the prize table, 51 players won £1,750 after matching five of the six numbers.
The winning Thunderball numbers were: 3, 26, 27, 36, 38 and the Thunderball number was 2.
No players took the top prize of £500,000 by matching five numbers plus the Thunderball, however there were two winners of the second largest prize of £5,000 for matching five numbers.