With less than a month to go before the ticket expires, The National Lottery has enlisted the help of the Isle of Wight tigers to help track down the Island’s missing £1million Lotto Millionaire Raffle winner.
Suspended in tigress Aisha’s favourite hang-out spot is a replica National Lottery millionaires winner cheque. With the zoo expecting record visitors at the start of the summer holidays, The National Lottery is hoping that Aisha and the cheque will be the perfect memory jogger for the missing ticketholder.
Every week Lotto Millionaire Raffle guarantees to create 2 millionaires – 1 on Wednesday and 1 on Saturday – but 1 lucky winner who bought their Lotto ticket on the Isle of Wight for the Lotto draw on 27th February 2016 has still to check their ticket and claim their prize.
For every Lotto line played, players automatically receive a Lotto Millionaire Raffle code printed on their ticket. The winning code on 27th February 2016, for the ticket bought on the Isle of Wight, was NAVY 3917 5002 and the ticket-holder only has until 25th August 2016 to claim their prize.
A National Lottery spokesperson said:
“With less than a month to go we are hoping the Isle of Wight lions will be just the reminder that the mystery winner needs to check an old ticket. Heading off on a safari is one of the top holiday destinations for lottery winners, so this time we are hoping its the animals that help us find the would-be lottery winner.
“The ticket was bought for the draw in February when we were all wrapped up warm against the winter chill so try checking in the pockets of winter clothes or in wallets, bags and even down the back of the sofa – someone out there is literally sitting on a fortune and the clock is ticking! We have the champagne on ice and our fingers crossed that the lucky winner comes forward to claim their winnings.”
Joining the tigers of Isle of Wight Zoo – Aisha and Simi – in their mission to jog some memories were a host of other smaller furry residents. Rare and critically endangered in the wild, Black and White Ruffed lemurs, Liberty and Lalaina, and the group of Ring-tailed Lemurs had their own lottery cheque to shout about.
Delighted to help in the hunt, Zoo Director Charlotte Corney said:
“This is our busiest time of year when thousands of people will pass through the gates to come and see our beautiful lions and tigers, hopefully one of them is the millionaire or talks about it afterwards and jogs a memory or two.
“While we are usually more interested in raising awareness for the conservation of critically endangered species, such as tigers or black and white ruffed lemurs, on this occasion we are happy to direct some of our energies to finding the Isle of Wight lottery millionaire. Hopefully with our help they will come forward and with luck, be an animal lover keen to support our conservation work.”
If no-one comes forward with the winning ticket before the prize claim deadline, then the prize money, plus all the interest it has generated, will go to help National Lottery-funded projects across the UK. The National Lottery changes the lives of individuals as well as communities – players raise, on average, over £36 million for National Lottery-funded projects every week.
Anyone who has any queries or who believes they have the winning ticket for any of the National Lottery draws within the 180-day deadline should call the National Lottery Line on 0844 338 7551 or email [email protected].
