So, apparently, someone in the UK just got £83.4 million richer, and for nearly two weeks, they didn’t even bother to claim it. Imagine waking up one morning and realizing you’ve been sitting on a fortune while still complaining about your overpriced meal deals.
The EuroMillions draw on January 24 made some lucky ticket-holder stupidly wealthy, and after 13 days of radio silence, they finally emerged to claim their winnings. According to Allwyn (the folks running the lottery), the ticket matched all five main numbers—02, 11, 19, 30, and 49—plus the Lucky Stars, 03 and 08. In layman’s terms: they hit the jackpot. Literally.
Andy Carter, the National Lottery’s go-to guy for congratulating strangers on their obscene luck, called it “absolutely incredible news.” Yeah, no kidding, Andy. He also reminded us that everyone dreams of this moment when they buy a ticket. What he didn’t mention is that for the other 99.9999% of people, that dream dies in about 10 seconds when they check their numbers and realize they're still broke.
Before this mystery millionaire can start swimming in piles of cash like Scrooge McDuck, the claim needs to be verified. Once that’s done, they get to decide whether to go public or keep their newfound riches under wraps. Historically, most winners choose to stay anonymous—probably to avoid sudden calls from "long-lost cousins" and people who never texted them back suddenly wanting to "catch up."
The jackpot ranks number 23 on the UK’s biggest lottery wins, which, if you ask me, is still a mind-blowing amount of money. But if you really want to talk insane wins, back in 2022, some anonymous Brit walked away with a record-smashing £195 million. That’s not winning the lottery—that’s becoming an oil tycoon overnight.
If you're feeling hopeful, the National Lottery says there are still nine unclaimed EuroMillions prizes floating around, the biggest being £1 million. But don’t get too excited—you probably didn’t win.
Oh, and if by some miracle you actually did win, you have 180 days to claim your cash. So, you know, maybe check your old jeans pockets before doing your next laundry load. You never know.