SACRAMENTO – The winner who bought his MEGA Millions ticket in Santa Clara has finally come forward to claim his prize, more than a month after the winning draw on February 15, 2008. While he understands the public’s curiosity about his story and is willing to share some details, he prefers to remain anonymous.
On February 15th a ticket sold at Bobby’s Liquor & Grocery in Santa Clara held five of the six MEGA Millions’ winning numbers. The winner, who buys tickets for every MEGA Millions draw, held onto his tickets and finally checked them last night at a local 7-Eleven. He explained, “When the check-a-ticket told me I won more than $599, I got so excited.”
This money will really come in handy since his wife has already been informed she will be laid off this summer. “Now I can buy a house for my family. This is a dream come true,” explained the winner. “I haven’t even told my wife yet, I’ll tell her with my oversized check!”
The ticket was purchased at Bobby’s Liquor & Grocery located at 2327 El Camino Real in Santa Clara. The winning numbers were 7, 11, 26, 30, 53 and the Mega Ball number was 14. The ticket matched all the numbers except the Mega Ball number.
Lottery officials always encourage players to sign the back of their tickets, keep tickets in a safe place and contact Lottery officials or visit your local Lottery District Office (http://www.calottery.com/AboutUs/Locations) as soon as possible. Winners have 180 days from the date of the draw to claim prizes.
Every penny of unclaimed prizes is added to the contribution the Lottery delivers to California schools. Last fiscal year, more than $29 million in unclaimed prizes was forwarded to public education.
More than 95 cents of every Lottery dollar is returned to the community in the form of contributions to education, prizes and retail commissions. The California Lottery contributes at least 34 cents of every dollar that players spend on Lottery products to public education and returns more than 50 percent of sales to players in the form of prizes. Since its inception in 1985, the Lottery has contributed more than $20 billion to California schools out of total sales of nearly $55 billion. Retailers benefit too, earning $3.5 billion in compensation since 1985.