March 13--A California Lottery winner lost out on the opportunity to claim his $1-million Powerball prize after he misplaced his ticket.
The man saw news reports about himself buying the ticket in Rosemead and came forward, saying he was the winner, KABC-TV reported. But, he said, he lost his ticket.
Because Powerball rules require the winner to produce the actual winning ticket, he was ineligible to collect his winnings, California Lottery spokesman Alex Traverso said.
But it wasn't an entire loss.
By law, all unclaimed prize money automatically goes to California public schools.
Lottery officials had tried to identify the man and distributed surveillance video footage in the hopes of finding the winner.
The winning ticket was purchased Sept. 13 at Rosemead Supermarket in the 8800 block of East Valley Boulevard back in September. The ticket had all five numbers except for the key Powerball number 27.
The winner had 180 days to claim the ticket, and Thursday was the last day.
