Don't forget to pick up your prize

[Mookie4ever]

Many major U.S. lottery prizes unclaimed
CHICAGO, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Some $570 million in various U.S. lottery prizes went unclaimed last year, USA Today reported Thursday.

Related Headlines
U.K. woman seeks rapist's lottery winnings (November 1, 2007) -- Britain's highest court began hearing arguments Thursday from a woman seeking some of the money her convicted rapist won in a national ... > full story

Audit: U.S. federal workers abuse flights (October 3, 2007) -- A U.S. government audit released Wednesday said federal workers overspent $146 million last year on business-class air travel. The Government ... > full story

Court: Keep tickets in glove compartment (September 16, 2007) -- A judge in North Carolina has ruled the city of Greensboro has only one year to sue scofflaws who have not paid their parking tickets. If the city ... > full story

Man faces arraignment in lottery theft (September 2, 2007) -- A clerk at a convenience store in California is due to be arraigned this week after he allegedly stole a customer's winning lottery ... > full story

$330M jackpot to be split four ways (September 1, 2007) -- Four Mega Millions tickets sold in Virginia, Maryland, Texas and New Jersey belong to winners of a $330 million jackpot. The winners, who played ... > full story



Illinois Lottery spokesman Courtney Hill told the newspaper the state has one outstanding $11.7 million Lotto ticket sold July 28 at an gas station in Chicago, along with three $250,000 Mega Millions tickets approaching expiration.

"If a lottery prize hasn't been picked up in three months, it probably never will be," Hill said.

The majority of lottery tickets expire after either 90 days, 180 days or one year, depending on state rules.

Powerball and Mega Millions, the two multistate lottery games, return unclaimed prizes to the states proportionately, based on the number of tickets sold.

There are 42 states that operate lotteries, and the majority of them keep unclaimed prize money for education and other programs, the report said.

There is a $31 million unclaimed Mega Millions ticket sold this year in New York while the biggest-ever lost fortune was a $51.7 million Powerball ticket sold in Indiana in 2002.

LINK

Imagine that, people who play the lottery are lazy or unorganized. Who would have thought that?

[5]

Imagine that, people who play the lottery are lazy or unorganized. Who would have thought that?

What are you trying to say?

Unbelievable!

[StlSluggers]

I always liked the saying that lotteries were just a tax on the ignorant.

$51M??? Unbelievable...

[Yoda]

That's awesome... So, how does one start a lottery?

[StlSluggers]

That's awesome... So, how does one start a lottery?

Just start robbing people... er.. I mean...

Form a government.

[Coppermine]

I always liked the saying that lotteries were just a tax on the ignorant.

$51M??? Unbelievable...

Actually, they're more like the "Stupidity Tax" and I'm all for them because of it. I have no qualms with someone's 401(k) being six scratch-offs a week. But you'd think these wackos would be glued to the TV after spending precious gas/milk/rent/mortgage money on silly pieces of paper with numbers on them.

"Sorry Billy, I spent 18 years worth of your college fund on lottery tickets and I thought I would win at least once... write us from Iraq!"