Senior winners' advisor Andy Carter told the Press Association: "We have got to the 14-day stage after the draw now, when we release the area."
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The search for the allusive winner is focused on Worcester
He continued: "We want people in Worcester to check down the side of sofas, in pockets, in gloves compartments, on shelves - just anything that can help them find the winning ticket."
While the winner has 180 days to send details of their ticket to Camelot, remarkable last-minute claims do happen.
It's been revealed that one player in the Worcester area waited until just days before the 6-month deadline to declare their stake of £2,525,485 in 2009.
Yet some players aren't quite as fortunate...
National Lottery's 5 Unluckiest Players
Lottery: 5 Unluckiest Players
Edwina and David Nylan, £35 million (01 of05)
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Furious Edwina and David Nylan, 60, lost out on £35 million after failing to top up their online Lottery account.
In a crushing blow, the Nylan's, from Leicester, discovered that despite choosing all the right numbers in last year's 23 December draw they weren't eligible for a payout.
Mrs Nylan, 55, said: “I am gutted, but what can we do? We have played for years, and had our online account for some time, so it is not as if we didn't know what we were doing.
“I have just had to carry on with things and not get too down.
“Shocked isn't the word, but as a family we stick together and just have to be grateful for what we've got.” (credit:Thomas Temple/ Rossparry.co.uk)
Hazel Loveday, £2.92 million(02 of05)
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Bus driver Hazel Loveday left a work syndicate six months before her colleagues won a whopping £38 million.
The 27-year-old from Kettering would have gained £2.9 million - as 13th member of the syndicate.
She had said she could no longer afford the £2 weekly subs. (credit:Facebook)
Martyn Tott, £3 million (03 of05)
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Martyn Tott lost £3 million in 2001 when an appeal for people to check their tickets jogged his memory - making him realise he'd lost the winning slip.
Martyn, pictured above in a 2002 publicity photo for a rival lottery game, triggered a seven-week long investigation by Camelot, only for the firm to deny their claim.
"Going to work is hard now," Martyn told the Daily Mail at the time, "However much you like your job, you can't help thinking, 'If I had £3million in my hand, I wouldn't have to be here'".
Martyn now works as a freelance filmmaker. (credit:Michael Crabtree/PA Archive)
Louise Whitby, £2.54 million (04 of05)
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Liverpudlian Louise Whitby was left furious after colleagues refused her claim to their mammoth syndicate win, after she failed to pay subs while on a day off sick.
The A4E employee from Merseyside told the Liverpool Echo: “I’ve paid into that syndicate every week for the past two years, but last week I was off work with morning sickness.
"When I came back in this week, I said I still wanted to pay in, but they said I should just buy some lucky dips with the money instead.
“That money will never buy them happiness. I considered them my friends, but I can never speak to them again.”