A couple won a $200 million lottery jackpot but couldn’t claim their prize due to a common mistake on their ticket.
Recently, winning a $200 million jackpot quickly turned into a heartbreaking story.
They were thrilled to win such a huge prize but were devastated to find out they couldn’t collect their money.
A simple but costly mistake with their ticket led to this unfortunate situation.
Couple hit $200M lottery jackpot but couldn’t claim their money over common mistake
Rachel Kennedy, 19, and her boyfriend Liam McCrohan, 21, matched all the winning numbers in a record-breaking $250M EuroMillions lottery draw.
However, they were unable to claim the massive jackpot due to a failed payment on their ticket.
Rachel had been playing the same set of numbers – 6, 12, 22, 29, 33, 6, and 11 – for five consecutive weeks.
She had set up her account to automatically purchase tickets with these numbers, ensuring she never missed a draw.
On the night of the draw, Rachel checked her lottery app and saw that she had won a life-changing sum.
She was overjoyed to find out that she had won the massive jackpot.
After that, Rachel called her boyfriend and mother to share the incredible news.
“I went on the app and it said ‘Winning Match’ and I thought ‘Oh my God, I’ve won.’
“So I called my boyfriend Liam and my mum into the room and they couldn’t believe it either,” she recalled.
They didn’t actually hit the jackpot as they thought
However, their joy quickly turned to devastation when they discovered the payment for the ticket had failed. This made their winning ticket invalid.
A call to the lottery officials confirmed the heartbreaking news.
“I called the number thinking that I had won $200M and they said ‘Yeah you’ve got the right numbers.
“But you didn’t have the funds in your account for the payment of the ticket,’” she explained.
“I was on top of the world when I thought I had won but when I found out I hadn’t, Liam was more upset than I was.”
They had not purchased a valid ticket and could not claim the $200 million prize.
Liam, who had already begun planning how to spend the winnings, was reportedly more upset than Rachel.
He felt the loss of the opportunity deeply. He even tweeted about the incident, though he has since deleted the post.
“I was absolutely heartbroken when we heard the man on the phone say we hadn’t actually bought the ticket, ” Liam said.
The couple’s dreams of traveling, buying a luxurious home, and securing their future disappeared in an instant.
Their hopes were gone with the failed ticket.