The owners of Finland's largest-ever Eurojackpot lottery win of 90 million euros have claimed their prize, ending months of speculation about whether the ticketholders would be found.
The state-owned gambling company Veikkaus confirmed that the record-winning number series was purchased at the Prisma supermarket in the southwest city of Loimaa in February, but the winning ticketholders did not immediately come forward.
Veikkaus now reports that the winners have claimed their prize, but prefer to keep a low profile.
Prisma sales manager Tanja Raika says word spread around the personnel and customers of the Loimaa supermarket as soon as Veikkaus made the announcement.
She says the overarching sentiment in the shop was relief that the money would be coming to Finland after all.
"We started to have suspicions that a dog had maybe eaten the tickets. But this is fantastic news that they have been safe and sound the whole time," she says.
She says the winners' request to stay out of the limelight may prove difficult, however. Loimaa has just 16,000 or so inhabitants, and anyone with an extra 18 million euros in their bank account will likely gain some attention.
"Loimaa is a pretty small community. I'm sure everyone will be keeping an eye on their neighbours' driveway to see if a new car suddenly appears," Raika laughs.