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REPORT: Woman Claims She Lost $26 Million Lottery Ticket In the Laundry

(Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)

Ashley Carnahan Contributor
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A California woman alleged she lost a winning $26 million lottery ticket in the laundry, according to Whittier Daily News.

The unnamed woman bought a SuperLotto Plus ticket at an ARCO AM/PM convenience store in Norfolk, California, in November, according to the report.

The deadline to claim the $26 million prize was Thursday at 5 PM. The woman came into the convenience store on Wednesday explaining to employee Esperanza Hernandez that she put the winning ticket in her pants pocket, which ultimately ended up in the laundry.

California Lottery Center spokeswoman Cathy Johnston told Whittier Daily News to claim the prize ticket holders need “compelling substantial proof [they] were in possession of the ticket.”

Johnston added that it was rare for a winning ticket not to be submitted for the prize. “Every claim of this size, if it is not turned in, will be investigated,” Johnston said. (RELATED: Idaho Man Wins Lottery For 6th Time)

CCTV captured the woman purchasing a ticket at the convenience store, but the lottery center doesn’t own the cameras, so officials can’t be sure of the time of purchase, according to Whittier Daily News.

A statement from California Lottery stated, “If the winning ticket is not claimed by May 13, 2021, the prize cash value of $19.7 million will be transferred to California public schools. The California Lottery gives its unclaimed prizes to public education, and since its inception, it has given California public schools more than $1 billion in unclaimed prizes.”

Ticket holders can file a California lottery claim form if they believe they have the winning ticket, according to the statement.