A lucky woman in the USA who hit the lottery last year has claimed her prize just days before her ticket was set to expire after she totally forgot about it.
Genine Plummer from the town of Islip, New York State, USA, won USD 1,000 (GBP 785) a week for the rest of her life after matching numbers 3, 9, 33, 57 and 58, on the CASH4LIFE game on 26th May, 2023.
She said in a statement obtained by New York Lottery: “I am overwhelmed.”
The woman reportedly forgot that she had bought a ticket at the ShopRite supermarket in Bay Shore last year, until the lottery issued a news release this May, notifying players that the winning ticket was about to expire.
The statement then triggered Genine to check her last year’s tickets which is when she discovered that one of them was a winner.
At lottery headquarters, Genine said: “I’m just in shock with everything and amazed. I am overwhelmed.”
When asked to share some advice with lottery players, she said: “Keep playing as I did and check your tickets like I did, especially if you have many tickets on hand.”
Plummer chose to receive her prize in annual installments of USD 33,852 (GBP 26,553) after state and federal taxes.
New York Lottery officials said: “The CASH4LIFE GAME generated USD 120,868,815 [GBP 94,810,707] in total sales during fiscal year 2021-2022.
“School districts in Suffolk County received USD 270,015,864 [GBP 211,803,143] in Lottery Aid to Education funds during the same period.”
