Search for Kenmare-sold Lotto Plus ticket draws a blank
THE winner of a €250,000 Lotto Plus 2 top prize – who purchased their ticket in Kenmare last June – has missed the deadline to claim the massive prize, a happening the National Lottery has described as “highly unusual for such a big win”.
National Lottery Communications Executive Fran Whearty told The Kerryman that lottery headquarters hadn’t received so much as a phonecall since the June 17 draw.
The €5 “Quick Pick” ticket was sold by Supervalu on Railway Road on June 17, but the 90-day deadline to claim the prize passed last Friday (September 15), despite an extensive media campaign to find the winner.
“It’s really, really disappointing,” Mr Whearty told The Kerryman. “The local media like The Kerryman and Radio Kerry couldn’t have done more to promote the story, but we didn’t even get a phone-call.
“Around 90 per cent of our big prizes are claimed within two or three weeks, and we were getting worried, so we put in an intense effort to find the winner – but it came to nothing. Only two per cent of our prize pool goes unclaimed on average every year, and most of that is usually made up of our smaller prizes.
“Normally you’d at least get a phone call from someone claiming they had bought the ticket but had misplaced it. But in this case, there wasn’t a word from anyone from day one.”
It’s the biggest unclaimed prize since the New Year Millionaire Raffle top prize went unclaimed earlier this year. Mr Whearty speculated that the winner might not have been local.
“Thanks to the media, I don’t think anyone in Kerry didn’t know about the situation. The team at the Railway Road Supervalu in Kenmare told us that the bulk of their customers would be locals, but it’s possible the person was just passing through Kenmare. That said, it’s anyone’s guess now – we’re only speculating.”
Mr Whearty reiterated the importance of checking and double-checking lottery tickets.
“Can you imagine how this person would feel if they found out they’d missed out on €250,000?” he asked. “It’s never been easier to check a lottery ticket. This is so disappointing.”
The unclaimed prize will be used to promote National Lottery and raise funds for good causes.