N.C. lottery counts on millions in unclaimed prizes

Aug 21, 2006, 11:34 am (11 comments)

North Carolina Lottery

The first night North Carolina residents could take part in the multistate Powerball lottery game, someone hit a $200,000 winner.

More than 11 weeks later, no one has claimed the prize.

It's a little-known fact that lottery games across the country keep millions of dollars in winnings are never claimed. The industry norm is that about 1 percent to 2 percent of prizes somehow fall through the cracks.

North Carolina lottery officials expect almost $9 million in lottery winnings will go unclaimed between last month and June.

That winning ticket from North Carolina's first Powerball was sold at the Wilco gas station in Aberdeen, about 80 miles south of Raleigh, near the golf resorts of the state's Sandhills region, lottery officials said.

The buyer has until late November — 180 days after the drawing — to claim the prize.

"You know, right before that drawing, there were 13 or 14 golfers who came in here, and they all bought five or 10 tickets each," clerk Amanda Harris said. "They weren't from around here. So who knows where it is?"

It's certainly not the biggest unclaimed prize in the game. In one famous Powerball case, a winning ticket worth $30.7 million, sold in Indiana in 2002, was never cashed in.

Why does it happen? Players toss winning tickets in the trash by accident. They misread them, lose them, forget about them. Sometimes, deadlines pass before ticket-holders act.

North Carolina's lottery is so new that no deadlines have yet passed for collecting winnings, so no money is considered unclaimed — yet.

A second $200,000 Powerball ticket sold in North Carolina also remains unclaimed. It was from the Aug. 2 drawing and was purchased at a gas station in Brevard.

Lottery officials heard by telephone from a woman who said she was the winner and would need a few weeks before coming to Raleigh to claim the money. All winners of $100,000 or more must collect the prize at lottery headquarters.

Most of the millions in unclaimed money will be from scratch-off tickets. Players must collect on instant tickets within 90 days of the announced end of a game.

Half of the unclaimed prize money will go to education programs. The other half will be plowed back into prizes for future games.

"I've seen' em come in on the very last day," said lottery director Tom Shaheen, who has worked for lotteries in four other states. "People leave them in drawers or glove boxes or wherever. When it gets down to the end, people will go and check those tickets, you can be sure about that."

AP

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DoubleDown

It ain't mine but I wish it was.....

DD

bellyache's avatarbellyache

I hope someone claims it before it expires.

LuckyGirl21's avatarLuckyGirl21

I wish it was mine also........................but alas it is not. I guess the old saying is true "ya snooze ya loose" and whoever has that ticket ya better...........WAKE UP!!!!!!!!! & CLAIM IT.Hyper

jeffrey's avatarjeffrey

There should be no expiration date. Hard enough to win. Don't cheat them out of the money.

lmatlaw

The expiration deadlines are completely fair. They are publicized and are reasonable. If someone who has a winning ticket can't be responsible enough to check it I have no pity for them. Why did they play in the first place?

Todd's avatarTodd

I personally think that in order for the state lotteries to be able to run an effective business, they need to have reasonable expiration dates.  It would be very difficult for them to run a budget if there were millions of dollars of old prizes on the books, several years old.

However, I think a more reasonable expiration would be one year from the drawing date, rather than 180 days.

fxsterling

back in the early days you had 180 days but the last day of the year they had a unclimed prize jackpot      THIS was IL lotto about 1980    think  they should bring it back

jeffrey's avatarjeffrey

Some people lose a ticket and then find it too late. Nothing wrong with a long expiration date. Year to 5 years.This would be more reasonable. My father died and his tickets expired before I could find them. My brother was sick in the hospital before he died for a year and he had several winners that had expired. Easy to say it is reasonable and completely fair but really for who? Once again, too hard to win to lose due to death, illness or a misplaced ticket.

cps10's avatarcps10

I think a year, two max, would be good...as long as it counts as a short-term liability for the state. To keep a long-term liability on the states balance sheet is too much...they have other fish to fry in the LT Debt section of their B/S.

wizeguy's avatarwizeguy

I think it should be 180 days from the announced end of game and not 90 days. For someone who doesn't always play scratchers regularly who looks for end of game announcements. They might have bought the ticket on the 2nd to last day and would have no idea. Ninety days is not enough. Ticket might also have been bought by an out of stater who only makes a few trips a year here and they got tickets on the way out of state.

cps10's avatarcps10

Quote: Originally posted by wizeguy on Aug 22, 2006

I think it should be 180 days from the announced end of game and not 90 days. For someone who doesn't always play scratchers regularly who looks for end of game announcements. They might have bought the ticket on the 2nd to last day and would have no idea. Ninety days is not enough. Ticket might also have been bought by an out of stater who only makes a few trips a year here and they got tickets on the way out of state.

I Agree!

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