SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A lottery player in California ran into a San Diego office Thursday afternoon just before closing and made a last-minute claim for the $38 million SuperLotto Plus jackpot.
The ticket, which came from the April 30, 2022 drawing, was bought at the 7-Eleven store on Spruce Street in the Bankers Hill neighborhood. Ironically, the deadline to claim the ticket was set for Thursday, October 27.
The numbers drawn that night were 3, 15, 21, 35, and 46 and the Mega number was 18. The odds of matching all five numbers and the Mega number is 1 in 41,416,353, according to the California Lottery.
Officials say there is a robust process to vet claims for large prizes ahead of declaring anyone a winner.
“Our investigative process for big winners is rigorous and thorough, which means it can take weeks or even months, depending on the circumstances,” said Carolyn Becker, California Lottery spokesperson.
“Because of that, we probably won’t know for quite some time whether the person who came in yesterday is indeed the rightful winner of the $38 million prize. If so – we will make that announcement once the vetting process is complete.”
If the claim is determined to be incomplete or invalid, the cash value of the prize – which is $22.9 million and is sometimes referred to as the “lump sum” – will go to California public education.
The California Lottery says it has raised more than $1 billion just in unclaimed prizes since Lottery tickets first went on sale in 1985.
