Upland Pair Find Winning Lotto Ticket Just in Time

RIVERSIDE — Luck was with Ruben and Michelle Montoya--twice.

In September, the Upland couple bought a winning SuperLotto Plus ticket, but they forgot to check it.

Then, Wednesday morning, the Montoyas saw a television news report about the California Lottery’s upcoming $60-million jackpot. The account quoted lottery officials who warned that the winner of an $11-million jackpot from Sept. 2 had never surfaced--and that the winning ticket would expire at the close of business today, the 180th day since the drawing.

Ruben Montoya sorted through a stack of old tickets in a folder that contains bills and other documents--and there it was.

The Montoyas rushed to the Riverside lottery office to claim their prize about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday--little more than 24 hours before their prize would have disappeared.

“We haven’t touched it yet, so it’s not tangible,” Ruben Montoya said Wednesday. “But it feels wonderful.”

The winning numbers: 12, 05, 07, 19, 10 and “mega” 15, were selected based on the couple’s birth dates and the ages of relatives.

Michelle Montoya told lottery officials her attention was drawn to the report on KTLA-TV when she recognized on screen employees at the Albertsons in Upland where the mystery ticket was sold.

Ruben Montoya is a computer analyst and Michelle Montoya is a project manager, also in the computer field.

The two plan to share the money with their church and family members.

When the Montoyas bought the ticket they elected to take a lump-sum payment. After taxes, they will receive about $3.5 million, a Riverside lottery official said.