So, someone in the NWT won $1M. Now what?

Someone in the Northwest Territories appears to have won $1 million in Friday’s MAX Millions draw, according to the lottery’s official website.

Twenty-two sets of winning million-dollar numbers were drawn on Friday evening. One set – with numbers 1, 2, 5, 11, 23, 36, and 45 – is shown as having a matching ticket sold in the Northwest Territories.

So, what happens next?

If that’s your ticket, first of all, congratulations. Secondly, this small radio station could really use some cash for an FM licence. Third, here’s how you claim:

• If you go to get the ticket checked at a store, the clerk’s screen will momentarily freeze, then it’ll display information you and the clerk need to get your win registered. You’ll then be given further instructions for claiming the prize.
• Alternatively, you can call 1-800-665-3313 (with your ticket ready) for instructions. Usually, this line is only manned from 7:30am on Monday, so if you’re reading this on the weekend you might face a nervy night or two with the ticket under your pillow. To calm those nerves, write your name, address, and phone number on the back of your ticket. That prevents anyone else from claiming the prize, because anyone who claims must show ID – and any changes to the information on the back of the ticket have to be investigated before a prize can be paid out.

Eventually, you will probably end up taking a flight to either Edmonton or Calgary to claim the prize.

The potential bad news is, all lottery wins this big are publicized – in other words, your name and photo need to be published on the lottery corporation’s website (and probably by us) in order to demonstrate the integrity of the lottery’s games and show the variety of people winning. Be prepared for your family and friends (and neighbours, and that guy at work… you know, that guy) to know you won.

But wait, what if nobody comes forward to claim the prize?

The ticket’s location only shows as “Northwest Territories” on the lottery corporation’s website. This means the ticket was bought in the NWT – it doesn’t necessarily mean the ticket’s owner lives here – and it probably means the ticket was bought somewhere outside Yellowknife. (Usually, for tickets bought in cities, the corporation lists the city, not the territory. For example, another MAX Millions winning ticket on Friday is listed as being bought in Whitehorse, as opposed to Yukon.)

So the chances are, this ticket was bought in one of the NWT’s smaller communities.

If the ticket’s owner doesn’t immediately notice they have won, they have one year from Friday’s draw date to come forward and claim the prize. In other words, the expiry date of the million bucks will be July 13, 2019.

The owner of a $100,000 prize won in the NWT in October last year still hasn’t come forward. We reported on that earlier this year, and the clock is still ticking on that ticket.