After the announcement of the winning numbers in early Summer, a Maryland lottery game gave the unannounced winner one hundred eighty two days to claim the prize –a substantial amount of time for searching between the couch cushions or thumbing through a house full of drawers. With only one day left on the claim period, however, it looked as though the jackpot was set to go unclaimed, until the winner confirmed his ticket numbers with the state lottery agency and became the recipient of a considerable quarter million dollars.

The man, who had apparently forgotten about his purchase, stashed the ticket with his auto insurance papers, and it just so happened that right before the claim period was up, the winner’s auto insurance was set to be renewed on its six-month schedule. The man remembered having heard about an unclaimed prize for that particular game, and decided to check the numbers –after which he was pleasantly surprised to find that he had indeed won. With his winnings, the man has stated that he’ll likely spend some on a vacation, donate a portion to charity, help out his family, and make some investments along the way.

The unimaginable agony of finding a winning UK National Lottery ticket recently expired may be exceptionally rare, but without proper ticket organization or an online playing or tracking method, such scenes can become reality. Luckily for this Maryland man, such an agony was, even if barely, averted.

Popularity: 6% [?]

When imagining how it’d be to win a lottery or scratch card game, most people probably envision picking up a ticket for their favorite method of playing, whether it’s a simple scratch sheet or the UK National Lottery, choosing the type and any numbers involved with confidence. But that isn’t exactly how things always pan out, as one lucky woman from Suffolk recently learned. The woman, who works at a local bingo palace, stopped to pick up a £2 scratch card, but the clerk accidentally tore off a £5 version. Accepting the difference, the woman took her ticket home only to find later that she’d won a staggering million pounds.

The win comes as a welcome surprise, helping to pay off a £68,000 mortgage and hopefully creating a brighter future for the woman’s children. A cancer survivor, the winner has faced numerous financial difficulties over the years, with medical costs and bank battles even seeing her in court in order to save her home. Though excited, the woman reports not being quite ready to spend her newfound cash on luxury goods. But of course, sometimes lottery winnings seem to rush in for the purpose of alleviating difficult situations, gifting people with previously unaffordable necessities, and helping to re-ignite lives beset by hardship. Whether or not the winner ends up with an eye-popping sports car or other token of riches, it seems clear there will be a lot less stress in her house.

Popularity: 9% [?]