An unlucky person who won a lottery a few months back couldn’t get his fortune as he wasn’t able to show up in time to claim his prize. And when he did show up, it was already too late.

A recent news confirmed that a resident of the US State of Colorado had won a lottery but lost all. The unlucky man is said to be one Peter Bayley.

Bayley had recently won a prize of US$ 1,500 when the draw of the US Powerball lottery took place. Although he hadn’t won huge money but he planned that he would take his wife on a vacation.

Bayley informed the press that he never thought that he would ever win a lottery. However, he was able to win one but unfortunately could not claim his prize. He told me that the office of the lottery was closed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. He added that he wanted to send the ticket by post but was afraid that he might end up losing it. He told sadly that he regretted his decision of not sending the ticket through mail or other means.

What happened afterward was that instead of bringing fortunes for him, the lotto became a sad event. He told the press that when he decided to visit the office of the lottery, it was already too late. He was late for three days precisely, he added. He thought that a 3-day delay wouldn’t mean anything. However, when he went there he was told that he could not claim his reward. He was told that he had missed the deadline by three days.

As per the rules of the lottery, Bayley was required to show up with his ticket within six months. However, in order to facilitate the winners, the lottery had also extended the period for one more month.

Meghan Dougherty, a spokesperson of the US lottery told that the lottery mandates strict adherence to the rules. The rules cannot be stretched to compensate anyone, she said. The office did what they could have done to facilitate the winners. However, in case anyone could not show up in time to claim the reward, then the lottery is not responsible.

Referring to the case of Bayley, Dougherty told me that the deadline was extended. However, again Bayley didn’t show up to claim his reward and therefore the loss caused was entirely his fault.

Later on in his statement, Bayley told that he himself is responsible for his loss. He said that if he had sent the ticket by post, he may have taken his wife on vacation.

It is said that one man’s loss is another man’s gain. This is exactly what is going to happen to Bayley’s prize. As per the rules of the lottery, the proceeds of unclaimed prizes are sent to agencies/organizations of the respective state.