FLASHBACK: A man pauses before playing his numbers at a Lotto booth on Mucarapo street, San Fernando.
A SINGLE Lotto player has won the $24 million jackpot after purchasing a Quick Pick ticket in El Dorado, National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) chairman Ken Emrith has confirmed.
Speaking in an interview with TV6 yesterday, Emrith said the winning ticket was purchased using the Quick Pick option, meaning the numbers were randomly generated by computer rather than selected by the player.
“They haven’t claimed it yet, obviously. It was drawn only last night, but one person, it was sold in Tunapuna and it was a Quick Pick,” he said.
Emrith said Saturday night’s jackpot was $24,027,490.65
“They will take home that sum, less 10%, which is the government tax,” Emrith said.
One player matched all five numbers with the multiplier but missing the powerball to win $200,000, while two others matched five numbers to each win $50,000.
“And that’s basically the top winners,” Emrith said.
The chairman said the jackpot was likely the third largest in recent years, recalling that a jackpot of about $30 million was won approximately two years ago.
He said the growing jackpot typically attracts more players as public interest increases.
“What tends to happen is as the amount builds, more and more people play. The lines get longer and longer. So, you find that interest peaks. It has now reset,” he said.
The next Lotto draw is scheduled for Wednesday, with a $2 million jackpot.
Emrith said winners are not publicly identified, given the country’s security situation.
Instead, the NLCB only discloses the general area where the winning ticket was sold so that potential winners can check their tickets.
“We don’t ask people to identify themselves. We know what the security situation is in the country for a long time, and so that we don’t identify the winner. All we do is say where the winning ticket was bought, and so that person can double-check their ticket,” he said.
He said winners generally have one year to claim their prizes. If the money is not claimed within that period, it is returned to the Treasury.
“That’s the standard practice for lotteries all over the world. You have to give people enough time to be able to produce their ticket,” Emrith said.
The NLCB is now awaiting the person holding the $24 million Quick Pick ticket to come forward.
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