How They Almost Didn't Win - Lottery Winners And Their Close Calls

We've all imagined what it would be like to win the lottery at some point - sitting in front of the television, watching the balls drop one by one, and realizing that every single one of them matches the numbers on the ticket in front of you. There's the disbelief, followed by the jubilation, followed by the OOOMMMGGG I AM RICH!!!! Then there's the best part of all - getting one of those giant oversized cheques, shaking hands, having your bank account filled to the brim with moola, and then for the rest of your life making decisions like, should I get the black, red or white Maserati? Eh, whatever, I'll get all three.

So far, so normal. But imagine how that scenario would play out if you hadn't realised you'd won. And not only that, if you'd stuck your winning lottery ticket somewhere and forgotten all about it. But the worst part - horror of horrors - what if you missed the cut-off date to claim your winnings, and had all those millions slip through your fingers? It doesn't bear thinking about. Of course because we're all avid lottery fans, we'd never let that happen. But strangely enough, it does seem to happen to some people - like James Wilson of South Gloucestershire.

Oblivious to the fact that he had in fact hit the jackpot on the EuroMillions lottery six months previously, James was cleaning out his wallet when he found the winning ticket stuffed inside. Curious as to whether or not it would pay out any money, he checked the numbers - only to discover he had matched five of them, netting himself a sizable £51,232.90 prize.

When he called the lottery to confirm, he found out that he had been just one day away from losing his prize - one that the lottery had been advertising for six months in order to track down the winner. "I can't tell you how relieved I was when I got through to someone the following morning and they confirmed that I wasn't too late to claim my prize", says James.

Having safely navigated his way through what could have been a devastating blow, recently married James will be using part of his money as the deposit on a house for him and his new wife, and is considering using some of his winnings to enter the sport of bike racing. Whatever you do in the future James, make sure to keep an eye on any lottery tickets you buy!

Near misses don't just happen in the UK though - there are plenty in the USA as well. Take for instance the story of Jerry Ritieni from the state of New York, who was cleaning out his car when he found an old forgotten lottery ticket of his. Also curious, he went online to check the numbers - and was dumbstruck when he realised he had won the $2.9 million jackpot! No-one believed it, least of all Jerry, but the numbers don't lie. While Jerry has yet to decide what to do with his windfall, one thing he's planning on doing is securing his children's future. As for the rest, only time will tell.

From cleaning out wallets to cleaning out cars, it looks like cleaning is the way to go if you're hoping to stumble on a huge jackpot win. But there's one thing you need to do first - and that's buy a lottery ticket online at GiantLottos.com. Then you can forget all about it like James or Jerry, and experience the shock of realising your lottery dreams have finally come true. Or you can do what the rest of us do - buy your lottery ticket, watch the draw, and celebrate with every number that matches!

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Buying lottery tickets on the web is fast and simple, with a copy of your ticket saved carefully in your profile up till the draw is made. You won't even need to prepare a prompt to check the final results, as you'll receive an email to instruct you that you're a winner after the draw.


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