The Read Shop on Cassandraplein in Eindhoven is stuck with an electric Mini Cooper. The car worth over €35,000 was won by someone during New Year’s Eve draw earlier this year, but so far no one has come to pick it up. The ticket can be redeemed until 23:59 on 31 December. After that, no more. “This is a real shame”.
“Imagine winning it and not knowing. That’s really annoying”, employee Ankie Verschuuren says. Someone bought the winning New Year’s Eve ticket from Staatsloterij (state lottery) at the store in December last year. “People might think that they will never win anything and that the ticket will disappear into a drawer. That could be my thinking”.
Appeal
The car is now in the parking lot at the shopping centre. There is a large sticker on the door that says ‘I am looking for my winner’. Previously, the car was right in front of the store door. “Residents complained about that. They couldn’t get past”, manager Gina Beumker of The Read Shop says.
An appeal on Facebook yielded nothing, but the car does attract attention. Customers start talking about it at the checkout. “They say they want it, but I wouldn’t mind myself too”, Gina, laughing, says. The car has to be moved to take a picture, but Gina calls a colleague to do that. He better reverse park the new car, she thinks.
Ticket
The buyer of the winning ticket in Eindhoven does not have to come from the city. Recently, there was even a customer from Maastricht. The store is located on Kennedylaan. “We are so centrally located”, Verschuren says. “It is always busy here”. Many prizes are not collected at all, according to Staatsloterij. More than €4,000,000 from the New Year’s Eve draw alone have not been redeemed. Sixteen MINI Coopers have also been waiting for a new owner since the beginning of this year. The owner of a won MINI in Prinsenbeek also has now come forward.
And what if the MINI Cooper in Eindhoven is really not collected? Then the value of the car will go to eighteen charities, according to the lottery organisation. A portion will also go to NOC*NSF* and the Dutch state. Employee Verschuuren hopes that it will not come to that. “I sincerely hope that we can find the person”.
NOC*NSF is a Dutch sports organisation with the aim of promoting (top) sports in the Netherlands. NOC*NSF was founded in 1993 from a merger between the Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Dutch Sports Federation (NSF). 90 National sports organisations are affiliated with NOC*NSF. Anneke van Zanen-Nieberg is chairwoman of NOC*NSF. The organisation is located in Papendal Sport Centrum (centre) in Arnhem. NOC*NSF acts as both the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
