A woman from Elgin, Ontario, cleaned up in a Lotto Max draw with a ticket that nearly expired. Wendy Mallette got lucky as she claimed a $500,000 prize and later realized the ticket was a few weeks away from expiring. US lottery.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming officials announced Mallette picked up the ticket from the June 18th, 2010, draw while cleaning out a drawer at her home. The ticket was worth half of a $1 million Maxmillions prize. If Mallette had waited much longer to check the ticket, she would’ve ended up with her pockets empty. Winning tickets are only valid for 12 months after a draw. After that, money reverts to the provincial treasury.

The draw had a $50 million jackpot and 45 extra $1 million prizes. It was one of those additional jackpots that Mallette shared with a ticket holder in B.C. Lottery results.

Mallete said she was stunned to learn that she could’ve lost half a million if she hadn’t checked her winning ticket when she found it, she told to the lottery officials once she arrived in Toronto to collect her winnings.

Lottery representatives encourage players to put their tickets in safe places in order for them to find those slips and cash in their money right away once they win. National lottery.

For the best lotto games, odds and tickets go to www.lottery.com