The unidentified man pictured above is the most infamous person in California right now. Why? Because he purchased the winning Powerball ticket at a supermarket in Rosemead, Calif. The ticket didn’t nab the crucial Powerball, but it had all the other numbers right, enough to potentially earn the winner $1 million.
Unfortunately, this man is infamous (as opposed to famous) for three very important reasons:
- He purchased the winning lottery ticket on September 13, which was a solid six months ago.
- He didn’t even know he’d won until just a few days ago.
- He lost the ticket.
That’s right, folks. Rosemead’s Powerball winner didn’t claim the prize initially because he didn’t even know about it, but when he did, he freaked the f*ck out because he had no idea where the ticket was. The deadline to claim the prize passed Thursday evening at 5 p.m. PDT. No worries because the money will go to a good place:
Because Powerball rules require the winner to produce the actual winning ticket, he was ineligible to collect his winnings, California Lottery spokesman Alex Traverso said.
But it wasn’t an entire loss.
By law, all unclaimed prize money automatically goes to California public schools. (Via Los Angeles Times)
He did come forward once the first local news reports surfaced earlier this week, which is how everyone knows he lost the ticket. However, the man refused to identify himself for fear of embarrassment and shame. Too bad he didn’t contact California’s police dog turned detective for help.
(Via NBC Los Angeles and Los Angeles Times)