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$200,000 Powerball lottery prize goes unclaimed
$200,000 Powerball lottery prize goes unclaimedPosted: 8/3/2008 8:50:14 PM  One lucky Powerball winner from Kansas isn't so lucky after the deadline expired for claiming a $200,000 prize. Kansas Lottery officials said they heard some real doozies last week from people trying to grab a share of the unclaimed riches, but despite that, Friday's deadline passed without the winning ticket showing up. Just because none could produce the winning ticket, it didn't prevent at least 100 people from trying to claim the money as their own. "Some guy called twice — I'm not sure if he forgot he called," said lottery spokeswoman Sally Lunsford. "He said he was sure nobody is going to claim the ticket because he washed it." The winning ticket for the Aug. 1, 2007, drawing was purchased at a store in northeast Kansas, but lottery officials aren't saying where. The deadline was 5 p.m. Friday to turn the ticket in. Lunsford said one man claimed that he was "very familiar" with the winning numbers because his son had the ticket but was in Arizona for work and couldn't bring it in. That didn't matter, either, she said, because the person who claimed the prize would have had to have the ticket in hand. "A lottery ticket is a bare instrument," Lunsford said. "It belongs to whoever brings it in, and their name is signed on the back." The ticket matched the first five Powerball numbers but not the Powerball number. Lunsford said businesses that sell a winning ticket receive a bonus prize if the ticket is claimed, but the location won't be revealed if it is not. Any jackpot money not claimed within 365 days of the drawing goes back into the prize pool, she said. "It would have been fun to have someone find that ticket," Lunsford said. Thanks to justxploring for the tip. Source: KansasCity
Sunny SW Florida United States Member #25708 November 5, 2005 4080 Posts Offline
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| Posted: August 3, 2008, 9:15 pm - IP Logged |
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Lunsford said businesses that sell a winning ticket receive a bonus prize if the ticket is claimed, but the location won't be revealed if it is not.
Not listing the location makes sense to me, at least until the money has been claimed. The retailer where the winning ticket was sold is posted the next morning on the FL website. I wonder if they'll still do that when PB comes to Florida in January. Still, there are times I'm not sure where I bought my ticket, although I can narrow it down to 3 or 4 stores unless I'm out of the area.
OTOH, letting everyone know where a ticket was purchased might help find the winner.
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Idaho United States Member #56982 November 21, 2007 1705 Posts Offline
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| Posted: August 4, 2008, 12:04 am - IP Logged |
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Lunsford said businesses that sell a winning ticket receive a bonus prize if the ticket is claimed, but the location won't be revealed if it is not.
Not listing the location makes sense to me, at least until the money has been claimed. The retailer where the winning ticket was sold is posted the next morning on the FL website. I wonder if they'll still do that when PB comes to Florida in January. Still, there are times I'm not sure where I bought my ticket, although I can narrow it down to 3 or 4 stores unless I'm out of the area.
OTOH, letting everyone know where a ticket was purchased might help find the winner. I actually think it is a good idea to not tell people where the ticket was purchased until after someone claims it or it expires. Judging by the article, too many people come out of the woodwork claiming that they won, when they really didn't.
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Washington *state* United States Member #62495 June 14, 2008 171 Posts Offline
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| Posted: August 4, 2008, 12:20 am - IP Logged |
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I guess one could accidently wash the ticket and destroy it...I would sooooooo be crying. Remember to hold your ticket close till the drawing! Then when you see its a dude.........Kick it to the curb.....or for some....the loss basket. lol
I wonder if its wise to say where the ticket was exactly sold now that the time has lapsed. That person would def know it was him/her. Have they already said? You can run, but you can't hide mighty Jackpot...surrender to me at once!
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Roslindale, MA United States Member #5472 July 1, 2004 117 Posts Offline
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| Posted: August 4, 2008, 6:55 am - IP Logged |
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"A lottery ticket is a bare instrument,"
Well, if you lose your shirt playing the lottery I guess that's true...
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United States Member #61017 April 21, 2008 154 Posts Offline
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| Posted: August 4, 2008, 9:49 am - IP Logged |
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i almost believe the guy that washed it. it's not like he tried to claim it, he just called them to say nobody would claim it because he washed it. Boy would i be kicking my own backside. But then again that wouldn't happen to me because I use one of those plastic pouches they give you to put your tickets in
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Sunny SW Florida United States Member #25708 November 5, 2005 4080 Posts Offline
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| Posted: August 4, 2008, 1:21 pm - IP Logged |
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"A lottery ticket is a bare instrument,"
Well, if you lose your shirt playing the lottery I guess that's true... Good catch & clever response. Reminds me of when Jay Leno has "Headlines"
That was the way it was reported (not an LP error)
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mid-Ohio United States Member #9 March 24, 2001 9264 Posts Offline
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| Posted: August 4, 2008, 1:47 pm - IP Logged |
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i almost believe the guy that washed it. it's not like he tried to claim it, he just called them to say nobody would claim it because he washed it. Boy would i be kicking my own backside. But then again that wouldn't happen to me because I use one of those plastic pouches they give you to put your tickets in In some states if he had also said which store, the time, the date and other combinations on the ticket if they were a regular group of numbers he played then there would have been enough evidents to warrant an investigation that might have awarded him the money.
Chances are if he could remember even having a tickets with winning numbers he could have offered more information had he been telling the truth. If he bought a quick pick, chances are he wouldn't have look at it and remembered any of the numbers on it before he washed it. Probably a lot of players who bought QPs and lost them thought they might have been the one. * Trying is the first step toward failure *
homer J. Simpson
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Southern California United States Member #61999 May 25, 2008 28 Posts Offline
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| Posted: August 4, 2008, 6:12 pm - IP Logged |
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"Lunsford said businesses that sell a winning ticket receive a bonus prize if the ticket is claimed, but the location won't be revealed if it is not."
So I guess since the ticket wasn't claimed, whoever sold it doesn't get the bonus prize? That store owner must be disappointed.
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Sunny SW Florida United States Member #25708 November 5, 2005 4080 Posts Offline
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| Posted: August 6, 2008, 11:24 am - IP Logged |
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"Lunsford said businesses that sell a winning ticket receive a bonus prize if the ticket is claimed, but the location won't be revealed if it is not."
So I guess since the ticket wasn't claimed, whoever sold it doesn't get the bonus prize? That store owner must be disappointed. That's not the way I read the statement at first, but maybe you're right. I don't think that's fair. Florida posts signs at the location to find the winner and has a download on its website. They usually start looking for the winner about 60 days before the 180 days period is up. Then they announce it on the local news.
Todd once posted a story about a couple in Colorado who were watching the 11:00 news, heard that someone in their area won, so they checked their ticket. I think they put it away & forgot about it. Anyone remember that news article? They got to a store and validated the ticket just before the midnight deadline, so the Colorado Lottery let them collect.
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