NORWALK, Calif. (WAND) - Fortune turned into misfortune when the winner of a major California lottery prize lost her ticket in a washing machine.Â
The winning ticket was the result of a Nov. 14, 2020 Super Lotto Plus drawing, in which the winning numbers were 23, 36, 12, 31, and 13. The mega number was 10.
The ticket had a prize of $26 million, which could have been paid out in annual payments or in a $19.7 million lump sump, according to NBC Los Angeles.Â
The woman who bought it from an AM/PM gas station on East Imperial Highway ended up out of luck because she left it in her pants, which then went through the wash and ended up destroyed. The prize went unclaimed before the Thursday deadline.Â
A California State Lottery spokesperson confirmed the winning ticket had been sold.Â
Other lottery players and the California Lottery recommend people take pictures of a winning ticket so they have proof of it and can still redeem it, even if it ends up misplaced.Â
The lump sump prize will be paid out to the California Department of Education. The AM/PM store won a $130,000 payout for selling the winning ticket.Â
