$26 million in winning Michigan lottery tickets unclaimed

Comment #6

RJOh — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:06:23 GMT

I've read about large lottery prizes going unclaimed and 20 people with heart-breaking stories about losing their ticket show up to make a claim. Years ago, such stories could influence lottery commissioners because they were rare but now days liars and cheats have gotten in on the act with some good stories and it's harder to tell if any of them are true.

Beside, if a prize could be claimed with out a ticket then there would be no reason to buy one because the odds of there being a large... [ More ]

Comment #5

justxploring — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:11:16 GMT

I know what you mean. One member the other day wrote that Florida is a wealthy state. I'm not so sure about that since there is such a gap here between the people who spend 1/2 of the year here the rest of us. Now that the economy is slow and people aren't buying houses, it trickles down to all retail establishments and furniture stores, jewelry and clothing stores are closing. I hope your friend is able to hang onto his business until things turn around.

I think now days, it is hard... [ More ]

Comment #4

SmoothJuice — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:58:40 GMT

Michigan is like the poorest state in the country. So many people are moving out of Michigan. My friend's store used to be packed, now it's almost empty due to people moving to another state to look for jobs.

Comment #3

ThatScaryChick — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:09:34 GMT

I wonder if the above story is true. How can a Lottery director payout a prize based on a person's sad letter? I think I'm going to try that! A $2 million FL MegaMoney ticket will expire soon. Let's see - Dear Florida Lottery....

Yeah, that is kind of a weird story. I'm betting it was a one time deal. I think now days, it is hard to convince the lottery officials to give you money from a ticket that you no longer have.

Comment #2

justxploring — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:15:23 GMT

If you go way back, that used to be one of my big pet peeves on this board, but I decided to let it go. I'd always say I can't understand why anyone would buy a ticket and then not even bother to check the number. In FL they start looking for the winner 60 days before the ticket expires. They post online and in the stores where the tickets were purchased in both English Spanish.

I wonder if the above story is true. How can a Lottery director payout a prize based on a person's sad let... [ More ]

Comment #1

ThatScaryChick — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:42:47 GMT

I'm wondering if most of those people who never get their prize money honestly lost their ticket, died or just didn't check to see if they won. I don't always check my tickets right away, but I would never not check them. I get the feeling though, that most of these unclaimed prizes are from people not checking their tickets, which is kind of sad. So much money shouldn't be going unclaimed.

$26 million in winning Michigan lottery tickets unclaimed

Lottery Post — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:48:00 GMT

Keep an eye out for old state lottery tickets while rummaging through drawers and closets for holiday decorations. Millions of dollars are going unclaimed, and you don't want to lose out.

More than $26 million worth of winning tickets were never redeemed in the fiscal year that ended in September. Another $2 million was lost in October. And since the lottery began 35 years ago, an eye-popping $512 million has gone unclaimed.

Today, the one-year clock is ticking on a number of sizable win... [ More ]