When Chris Ramesar plays the Florida lottery, sometimes he gets a warning from his 8-year-old daughter, Gabriela.

"Daddy," she says, "remember what happened in New York?"

Ramesar is a 57-year-old co-owner of an auto body shop in Miami. He is thousands of miles and more than a decade removed from the day he found out his lucky numbers had come up in the New York Lottery.

But he hasn't forgotten what happened, or the lesson he eventually learned — that it is very hard to sue the Lottery successfully.

"I still think about it," he said in a telephone interview.

In 1993, Ramesar was working as a limousine driver in New York City. On July 17, the numbers he had always played in his weekly lottery subscription — 21, 26, 28, 37, 50 and 54 — came up in the Lotto Pick Six contest. The jackpot: $10 million.

He called his family. He bought roses and headed over to a jewelry manufacturer on 47th Street, where his wife, Maria, worked.

"My mother called me at work," Maria recalled. "She said, 'My goodness, how is my little millionaire?' "

The jubilation lasted until a lawyer representing the family called to inquire about collecting the jackpot. A Lottery official told him there was no record of a winning ticket.

That's when Ramesar learned that his application for a weekly subscription to the Lottery had not been processed, even though he had mailed it two months previously.

Lottery players may enroll in pre-paid weekly subscriptions that play the same numbers. The subscriptions become active after the player is sent a confirmation of receipt. The confirmation indicates the date on which the subscription will begin.

Ramesar mailed his application on May 7 but did not receive a confirmation of receipt until July 28, 11 days after the winning numbers were picked, according to court documents.

In the court papers, a Lottery official said applications are usually processed and entered into the Lottery's computer files within one to two days of receipt. Current subscription forms say to allow at least 10 working days "for processing."

In court documents, Ramesar said he had called the Lottery office in June and had been told he should soon receive confirmation that his application had been processed. The delay, it appeared, was caused in part because the Lottery's headquarters were being moved from Albany to Schenectady.

Ramesar sued in the state Court of Claims, which handles civil litigation seeking damages against the state. The court handles about 1,500 claims a year, few of them directed at the Lottery. Only 19 Lottery-related claims were returned when court officials at the Poughkeepsie Journal's request performed a search of the computer archive, which dates back about 20 years. The court maintains an online database of decisions that began in March 2000.

Not all claims are from wannabe winners. Some relate to contracts between the state and vendors who sell the tickets.

Ramesar sued, claiming breach of contract and negligence. In dismissing the case, Judge Louis C. Benza cited Lottery regulations that stipulate winning tickets are bearer instruments.