Winner of $60M lottery ticket bought in Saskatchewan yet to come forward

The mystery winner of Friday’s Lotto Max draw is either keeping their new windfall a closely-guarded secret, or they just don’t know yet they’ve won the big prize.

However, the clock is ticking to claim the jackpot.

“It’s one year exactly from the day of the draw,” said Andrea Marantz, Western Canada Lottery Corporation spokeswoman. 

Until the winner comes forward, the rumour mill will be buzzing. Marantz said people want to know where the winning ticket was purchased.

“We have people calling in asking us, ‘Is that true?’” Marantz said. “People get excited and someone may say something in jest that someone overhears, and these rumours just get going.” 

It’s the largest winning ticket ever bought in Saskatchewan, beating the previous record of $40 million. That was also a Lotto Max ticket, which was purchased August 2011 in Paradise Hill, Sask. 

Once the winner does come forward, a process to ensure they are the ticket’s rightful owner begins – starting with an interview with the WCLC.

“We take possession of the ticket and we give the winner a receipt and we ask them questions like ‘When did you buy the ticket?’ And ‘Where did you check it?'” said Marantz. “So it’s just a matter of making sure this person’s story matches the facts, and they haven’t stolen this ticket.”

Marantz said once the ticket holder is verified as the rightful owner, the public can meet the winner. A news conference is typically held, unless the winner wants to keep things “low key.” 

“If the winner wants to turn down the news conference, we will still issue a news release. They can’t turn down the publicity,” Marantz said.

The winning numbers are 5, 7, 15, 18, 19, 27 and 28. The bonus number is 25.