DANBURY, Ct. — So close to $254 million and yet so far away.
That could be the case for a 21-year-old Danbury customer who said he had the winning ticket for the Nov. 2 Powerball drawing — but lost it.
The $254 million prize was the biggest Powerball jackpot in Connecticut history and the 12th biggest jackpot in Powerball history.
At a 7-Eleven on Mill Plain Road, owner Abu Sayed said a 21-year-old customer claimed to have lost the winning ticket: 12-14-34-39-46, Powerball 36.
Sayed is skeptical.
"To get that money, his responsibility is to show the ticket. If he lost it, it is his fault," he said.
All lottery officials know is that the ticket was sold at a location in Fairfield County, and they want the buyer to step forward and end the mystery.
They've urged people to check their Powerball tickets, using messages on billboards and display screens at 2,700 retailers across the state.
At stake is a $254.2 million annuity paid over 29 years or a lump sum of nearly $152 million in cash.
The winner of that life-transforming amount has six months to claim the prize. If no one comes forward by April 30, the money will go back to the states that fed the pot.
Thanks to Steve for the tip.
ok here we go again..........
Sayed is skeptical.
"To get that money, his responsibility is to show the ticket. If he lost it, it is his fault," he said.
Whoever won probably got a tax attorney and the attorney told them to hold the ticket and not to cash it in until Jan 2012.
Jeepers - This is getting pretty wacky!! Hard 2 know what the heck is going on .....
Yikes, will the real winner please step forward.
I love the fact Connecticut Lottery is now putting up billboards all over the State trying to find the real winner. It must be driving them insane to finally have someone win such a huge jackpot and not be able to parade the winner in front of the media for all to see. Hopefully the true winner is taking this time to get their affairs in order before they claim the jackpot.
Yes...This is getting a little too wild ...Guess this is why CT. lottery does NOT tell you the exact location of the winning ticket....Well it is that time of year for the fruitcakes to come out...I wish we could fast forward this ,just to see who really is the winner..
If I had the winning ticket ................ there would be NO story like this!
I need the money too much to let it sit. I would have claimed the prize right away, with no news conference.
Of course, I would have a "hiding place" to escape the "Occupy Wall Street" & other Greed of Envy types!!!!!!!!!!
I like your thinkin'.
first off, that has got to be one dumbest attorney's
here why: as of right now, all money collected by state lottery in 1 account, waiting to be wired to someone
to that day comes, its sitting their collecting bank interest
now if you was to take cash, and have 100+ million in cash, just sitting their collecting bank interest, ya bet your missing out on TON of money.
it takes just 2 weeks for all states to get all pot money in 1 account the winning state holds, to be wired to jackpot winner.
so yes lottery winners. due take the time to get their affairs in order before they claim the jackpot. plz don't rush in day atfer you won. etc
however, atfer 2 weeks pass, its now time to claim, Now the present moment , not any sec later, Now. now now.
whoever this bloody idiot winner is,and he is a idiot money wise speaking , as of right now they are! , cease the winner is missing out on all that bank interest money on such a insane amount of money.
who ever tells you to take more then 2 weeks to claim, is telling you to lose Money, and should Never , Ever be trusted again with planing anything with your money for you.
sure the tax's are 25% up front, but he be paying 35% rate max on such a large amount of money, the other 10% rate come tax time, but that 10% he yet give to IRS, can earn him more free money via bank rates.
if someone really lost the ticket, omfg it was going to happen sooner or later. and now states will win their own jackpot game, and screw the players that builded it, just great.
whatever going on, state of Connecticut Lottery can afford to put up billboards all over the State , as of right now their making a killing with it just sitting their collecting free money for them.
i guess the patelbrothers are extending to a conversion of abu sayed...
Yeah I lost the 254 million dollar ticket to!...Because I never brought it!
Another mystery to solve.. OH MY !!! SURE HAS EVERYONE LOOKING , HE-HE-HE.. and the winner is ??
The payout would still be taxable in 2011, not 2012. The IRS rules are that income is taxable in the first year when it could be collected, not when it is actually received. If you hit the lottery in late December, they would not be able to pay you until January and it would not be taxable until then.
A good attorney would advise a client not to reveal themselves until the lottery could actually pay them the next day. And the winner should make plans to leave immediately to an undisclosed location for a while.
I umm had the winning ticket and I lost it too...
No ticket no money...a lot of people will claim that lost ticket hehehe...
another lost ticket...give me a break
NO! I have the winning ticket! Now where did I put it?
That's generally true, but most PB states give winners 60 days to make the decision on whether to take cash or annuity. I don't think it's been tested IRL, but there seems to be a lot of speculation that having 60 days to make that decision means you don't have constructive receipt until the decision is made. In that case any such win after 11/1 wouldn't be taxable until the following year if the winner waits to claim it or waits to make the decision.
I swear if someone really lost that ticket they have to be the dumbest person ever. Waste of a winning ticket.
Keeping a lottery ticket in your wallet is not rocket science ............... or is it!?!?
I noticed nobody claimed the $78 million Mega Millions jackpot sold in California on november 1st.
Actually a wallet would be a terrible place to keep a ticket that big. What if your wallet gets stolen or the ticket falls out when you open it for another need? I keep my tickets in an area that I frequently access but is not full of junk. Usually the nightstand drawer or the top of my computer desk. That way it's still within availability I don't have to worry about throwing it away or digging through because no on ever comes into my room but me.
Prizes go unclaimed here in Florida all the time, how it happens is beyond me
It takes about 3 weeks of careful planning and consideration to form a blind trust and personal trust plus figure out where to place the money to where you can gain the most money and pay less taxes after all the are already getting a large chunk of the change! all these idiots are looking to do is drum up business!
I'll bet CT government is getting pretty excited that the owner might have lost the ticket. Even though CT has the highest per capita income in USA, the Government of CT is lagging behind many states in revenue collection.
Oh I hope the real owner is just being smart and is making lifelong plans for the money then come out briefly to claim it then disappear like Keyse Soze. Forever!
Actually a wallet is a safer place to keep a ticket than either place that you mentioned.What if someone breaks into your house when you aren't home?What if your house would catch on fire?i'd rather have the ticket on my hip than laying out where anyone could snatch it.As long as its signed,it really doesn't matter where you keep it,though.
That is certainly an interesting position to take. I suspect the IRS would argue that because the decision was solely in the hands of the winner, constructive receipt has occurred if the winner chooses the cash option a few days after January 1. I don't have a good feel for how a judge might decide the issue for a single winner. A group that won might have a more persuasive agrument that constuctive receipt had not occurred because it took that long for the group to reach agreement on whether to take cash or the annuity. In a group setting, one winner does not control the issue. As I say, it is interesting.
Only two things you state are true. #1: THe ticket holder (holders) are going to claim in Connecticut. #2:Connecticut can afford to have billboards.
ALL other information needs to be taken with such a grain of salt as its 100% inaccurate. Please do your homework accurately before posting to a forum that relies on accuracies when conveying stats and facts. Your personal opinions are just that personal and "opinions" not withstanding much validity. To dissuade a person to get financial advisal is poor management at its finest.
My personal take on this is: THe store is keeping the media going because THEY want their money . THe store owner is NOT the lottery and doesnt make the regulations so his comments are self serving to say the least.
I hope that fellow just hid it from his self and find that ticket cause thats
just to much money to let get away,how could you sleep at night.he should'hve
claimed it the next day .thats what i would have done. i hope you find it soon
Your house could burn down !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why?
lots of free publicity for ct lottery !
go denver !
I sure do hope that the real winner is out their some were in uconn waiting for the right time to come forward to claim the winnings. Because this is rediculous about these people claiming to be winners but have no proof of ever having a ticket with the winning numbers on it. That is my two cents.-weshar75
the store gets paid even if the money is never claimed.
however they they do benefit from the contuined news .
This state has no shortages of as$holes...I suspect even more krrochwaffles will be coming out of the woodwork in time to come
Rodney Dangerfield said it best about people with this mentality..."...now I know why wild animals eat their young.."
I know its not a crime to say you lost a ticket but I would like to see something happen to these people who in just about every case are lying. The mental anguish they put on people who actually hold the winning tickets should not go unnoted.
sounds like a situation like the movie fargo, the search is on
Once again it's the store who's talking to the media and not the person supposedly claiming to have lost the ticket.
I can't help but think, what a way to drum up business, just invent a customer that came in claiming to have lost the ticket. Then, people start flocking to the "lucky" store for a while.
i dont even live in usa, but i think i may have lost the ticket also, better put me down as a claimant
Hahahaha!!!
I wonder if people who come forward with false claims ever think about the monetary consequences that they can accrue.
And all of the embarrassement they and their family will endure when they are proven wrong and possibly end up in court.
I saw Connecticut from Long Island once ........... it must be a ticket that I lost ..............