Lotto officials are urging participants to be diligent with their entries after a winning ticket purchased on the Sunshine Coast expired.
Someone missed out on $1 million after failing to come forward within the necessary period.
It was the oldest unclaimed ticket in the country, until time ran out late last year.
The Lott spokesperson James Eddy reminded people to be vigilant for future draws.
“We always encourage Australian lottery players to not only check their tickets but also register their entries to a player card or online account, so that in the case they do win division one, we can contact them directly and give them the exciting news,” he said.
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The ticket was bought at Cotton Tree News for Monday Gold Lotto draw 3618, drawn on December 19, 2016.
The winning numbers were 4, 6, 10, 11, 33 and 38, with supplementary numbers 23 and 28.
“In Queensland, division one lottery winners have seven years to claim their prize,” Mr Eddy said.
“If the prize isn’t claimed in that time, unclaimed prize money it is transferred to the Queensland Government in accordance with regulations.”
He said winning tickets had been found after long periods of time, and in unusual places.
“They have been discovered weeks, months and even years after the draw, in old shopping bags, clothes drawers, car consoles and even behind fridges,” he said.
But it’s too late for the person who had the correct numbers for Draw 3618.
Cotton Tree News manager Sarah, who preferred not to give her surname, said it was unfortunate the ticket holder did not come forward to claim their price, after a call-out to find the mystery person last year.
“It’s sad,” she said.
“It was all over the news when it was about to expire … but it’s now been seven years and it has expired.”
During the search for the person, a staff member told Sunshine Coast News that staff and customers talked about the ticket’s whereabouts.
“There are lots of theories about what could have happened,” she said.
“It could have been a traveller who was staying on the Sunshine Coast during the Christmas holidays and the ticket could have floated out of the pocket of their board shorts.
“Or it could be stashed away in the bottom of a drawer in a caravan or something like that.”
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