$24M Lotto Ticket Bought At NYC Bodega Is About To Expire

TRIBECA, NY — There are few things more maddening to imagine than some ignorant soul wasting away at his office job somewhere out there, clueless to the fact that the old lottery ticket pinched around a piece of gum in his center console has the power to transform him into a free-wheeling American millionaire.

Don't let this tragic character be you.

Think hard: Did you by chance try your luck in the New York Lottery at a tiny bodega at 158 Church St. between Reade and Chambers streets in Tribeca around this time last year?

Someone bought a winning jackpot ticket at the shop, called Renu Corp Grocery & Tobacco, on May 25, 2016, according to lottery officials. (They won't say what time of day "for security purposes," but the shop owner told AM New York it was sold sometime in the morning hours.)

The ticket is worth $24 million. However, if someone doesn't conjure it by midnight this Thursday, May 25, all those potentially life-changing riches will be thrown right back into the general Lotto pot.

These were the winning numbers on the ticket:

5 - 12 - 15 - 22 - 25 - 35

Around $74 million in unclaimed New York Lotto loot reportedly expired last year.

The owner of the bodega who sold Tribeca's soon-to-expire ticket, Babuby Patel, said in an interview with AM New York that he suspects an out-of-towner or other non-regular customer bought it, as anyone who frequents his shop would have come forward by now.

An "EXPIRING SOON!" flyer with info on the missing ticket is now displayed prominently next to the cash register at Renu Corp.

“A lucky New Yorker has a $24 million Lotto payday just waiting — but the winner has to act fast as time is running out,” lottery officials warned last week. “We urge New York Lottery players: Check your pockets. Check your glove box. Look under the couch cushions. If you have this winning ticket, we look forward to meeting you.”

To redeem the ticket, its holder must sign the back of it and call the New York Lottery’s Prize Payments Office immediately at 518-388-3370, or deliver it in person to a Customer Service Center (there's one at 15 Beaver Street in the Financial District). More info here.

Image via Google Maps