$23 Million Lottery Winner Forgot About Ticket, Left Winning Ticket In Her Car

The winner of a $23 million lottery ticket forgot she had won the ticket and left it in her car, the California lottery said Friday.

According to the Daily Mail, the woman came forward just days before the ticket expired after lottery officials in California put out a public notice with her picture.

"She just never checked the ticket," lottery spokesman Alex Traverso told the San Bernardino County Sun. "Her daughter took a picture of her photo in the newspaper and sent it to her mother; she went to her car and found the ticket."

The photo notice shows the woman purchasing the ticket from the SuperLotto Plus Jackpot at a liquor store back in May in Palmdale. More details on the woman's identity would be announced on Friday by lottery officials during an official press conference.

ABC News reported the woman filed her claim today and should get her jackpot in four to six weeks.

The $23 million winning ticket had to be claimed by Nov. 26 by the winner in order to cash it in. Otherwise, the jackpot would go to California schools.

Liquor store manager Ben Sadi told ABC News he remembered the exact woman who purchased the ticket.

“I know what she looked like, and I recognize who she is,” he said, adding his store opened 27 days before the winning ticket -- 14, 7, 26, 31, 23 and Mega 5 -- was bought.

“We have signs outside that say, 'The millionaire made here,’ with the check that she won, the $23 million,” he said. “I was really really happy, really extremely happy. Our first store, we hit the lotto."

ABC News reported Sadi's store will receive a bonus of one half percent for selling the winning ticket, or $115,000.