EuroMillions bosses are hunting for the mystery winner of a jackpot worth nearly $98 million after pinpointing the region where the winning ticket was bought.
Camelot, operator of the UK National Lottery, revealed that the ticket was bought in the Boston and Skegness area of Lincolnshire, eastern England, on November 2, the same day as the draw.
Under current lottery rules, the location where a winning ticket was bought is published after two weeks if no valid claim is made on major prizes.
“We’re desperate to find this mystery ticket-holder and unite them with their winnings and we’re urging everyone to try checking in the pockets of clothing, in wallets, bags, down the back of the sofa and anywhere a missing ticket could be hiding – someone out there could literally be sitting on a fortune,” said Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at the National Lottery, in a statement on the lottery company’s website.
“We have the champagne on ice and our fingers crossed that the lucky winner comes forward to claim their win.”
The winner matched all five numbers in the draw – 5, 15, 17, 37, 44 – along with the two lucky star numbers – 7 and 11.
The person has until May 1 to claim the ￡76,369,806.80 prize.
The jackpot is the 12th largest National Lottery prize ever won, and is the fourth EuroMillions win in the UK this year. The EuroMillions lottery is open to players in 13 countries, including the UK, France and Spain.
Lottery spectators expressed their astonishment at the unclaimed jackpot on social media.
“The UK winner of the ￡76 million EuroMillions still hasn’t claimed it! How do you buy a ticket and never check it, ludicrous,” one said.
Another said: “Have just noticed no-one has claimed the ￡76 million EuroMillions jackpot yet; if you were on the Lincolnshire coast on November 2 and bought a lucky dip, do go through your pockets.”
Lincolnshire is home to other major jackpot winners, including Richard and Angela Maxwell from Coningsby, who won around $68 million in April 2015.
The couple’s win thrust them into 10th place on the National Lottery Rich List, behind the leaders Colin and Chris Weir from Largs in Scotland, who won around $206 million in July 2011.