$200k Lotto Unclaimed: Is This Ticket Hiding in Your Pocket?

Lotto NZ is on the lookout for a mystery winner after a $200,000 First Division prize from a draw on August 31 remains unclaimed three months later, according to news website Stuff.

The winning ticket was purchased at Coastlands Lotto in Paraparaumu, and locals on the Kāpiti Coast are being urged to recheck their tickets. Will Hine, Head of Corporate Communications at Lotto NZ, expressed surprise at the delay. “It is unusual that we’ve not heard from our winner. We usually hear from First Division winners within the first couple of weeks,” Hine told Stuff.

Hine revealed that all four other First Division winners from the same draw have already claimed their $200,000 prizes. “Somewhere out there, someone has the winning ticket,” he said. “Perhaps it’s in a jacket pocket, glovebox, or stuck to a fridge.”

While the ticket is most likely still in the Kāpiti Coast area, Hine noted it could have been bought by someone just passing through the Wellington region.

With the holiday season approaching, Lotto NZ is hopeful the prize will be claimed before Christmas. “We’d love to unite the rightful winner with their prize in time for Christmas, so we’re encouraging everyone in the area to dig out their tickets and check them,” Stuff quoted Hine as saying.

The winning ticket was part of a $1 million jackpot shared by five players. The other tickets were sold at Albany Superette, Mitchell’s Paper Power, and Clendon Postshop Lotto in Auckland, as well as to an online player in Whanganui, Stuff reported.

Winners have up to 12 months from the draw date to claim their prizes, but Lotto NZ is eager to locate the elusive ticket sooner rather than later.