$6 million in Illinois lottery prizes unclaimed

Dec 26, 2005, 8:11 am (5 comments)

Illinois Lottery

If you are a regular player of the Illinois Lottery's Mega Millions or Little Lotto games, your winning ticket may be right under your nose. Or in a coat pocket in the hall closet. Or being used as a bookmark in a novel.

More than $6 million in prize money sits unclaimed — the largest being a $900,000 Little Lotto jackpot drawn Oct. 2. The winning ticket was purchased at Dempster Mobil, 4002 Dempster in Skokie, with the numbers 3-14-22-24-34.

While all of this year's Lotto and instant tickets have been redeemed, 22 Little Lotto players have yet to claim their prizes. And although Illinois hasn't had a Mega Millions grand prize jackpot all year, nine second-place prize winners have yet to come forward. Each second-prize ticket is worth $250,000.

"It always amazes me how many of our players never check their tickets to see if they've won," said Lottery Supt. Carolyn Adams.

Tickets are only valid for a year from the date of the drawing. To view a list of unclaimed prizes, go to www.illinoislottery.com and click on "unclaimed tickets," or call the Lottery Claims Office at (217) 524-5150.

Lottery Post Staff

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Chewie

If you are a regular player of the Illinois Lottery's Mega Millions or Little Lotto games, your winning ticket may be right under your nose.

What does being a regular player have to do with the failure to claim a prize?  I would be inclinded to believe the ticket was purchased by a non-regular player.  How many regular lottery player don't check their tickets? How many regular race fans don't check their tickets? How many regular poker players don't check their cards? ZERO.  Then again, the related stories option prove Illionois residents do not necessarily reflect a connection between lottery winning and intelligence.

fast eddie's avatarfast eddie

 

Below is a list of some high dollar prizes that remain unclaimed. Remember that prizes are only valid for one year from the date of the drawing.

Last update - 12/16/05

 

LOTTO
Drawing
Date
Location Ticket SoldAmount
 
MEGA MILLIONS
12/13/05Hometown Grocery
5921 W 16th St
Cicero, IL
$250,000
11-15-05Minuteman Citgo
24112 Rand Rd
Lake Zurich, IL
$250,000
11/08/05Speedway
1156 Dundee Ave
Elgin, IL
$250,000
06/07/05

Mannheim Mobil Corp
3201 N. Mannheim Rd
Franklin Park, IL

$175,000
06/03/05New Twist
2908 Springfield Rd
East Peoria, IL
$175,000
05/13/05Kedzie L Newstand
2620 N Kedzie
Chicago, IL
$175,000
04/12/05Don & Chars Pkg Liquor
121 East Adams
Rushville, IL
$175,000
01/25/05Summit Shell
5344 S. Harlem Ave
Summit, IL
$175,000
starchild_45's avatarstarchild_45

these people are crazy. you can tell these are the people who hardly buy tickets and never check them. just crazy.

Rip Snorter

They buy them when they're drunk and forget they bought them, maybe.  One's from a liquer store.

The rest appear to be from gas stations and convenience stores.... maybe they just stuck them between the seats or forgot them,

or  when they thought they were going to get stopped by a cop and tossed them out the window along with the other stuff they bought in the parking lot.

Who knows?

Jack

fja's avatarfja

Those are Oprah's tickets

Jester

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