State Lottery had to use a plane to track down a person who won 1 million euros
The Staatsloterij, the Dutch State Lottery, resorted to an unusual tactic to track down a person who won 1 million euros but had not claimed their price. In July, they deployed a plane flying a banner looking for the winner. Upon seeing the plane banner in the sky, the man came forward to claim his prize, Hart van Nederland reported on Thursday.
The lottery draw was held on June 10. The winner bought the winning ticket in a store in the municipality of Doetinchem in the province of Gelderland, the State Lottery announced on its website
However, as the person did not come forward to claim his prize, the State Lottery set out on a mission to locate him. "Because the winning State Lottery ticket was bought in the store, we also don't know who the winner of the grand prize of 1 million euros is," said Tonny Dijkhuizen, prize-winner supervisor at the State Lottery in a press release. "We often see that lottery tickets are bought in stores by local residents. This is why we are calling on everyone in the municipality of Doetinchem to still look for the winning lottery ticket at home," he said.
They also deployed a plane on July 10 above the municipality of Doetinchem with the text, "State Lottery looking for 1 million euros winner." "With that, we hope to welcome the winner to our office soon," Dijkhuizen added. This strategy seemed to work: the man came forward after seeing the plane.
According to the State Lottery, it is often the case that participants do not immediately cash in their big-prize winning lottery tickets. These are invariably tickets that have been purchased in-store. To have the prize paid out, the winner needs to present the winning State Lottery ticket at the Dutch Lottery main office in Rijswijk, Zuid-Holland.
The winner also receives advice and assistance in managing their prize money. “Whenever large prizes are won, we caution winners about sharing this news too broadly, and we always advise them to consult with a financial advisor," Thomas van Vessem, a prize winner advisor at the State Lottery, explained to the local media outlet Achterhoek Nieuws.
