Californians to get a full year to claim Mega Millions lottery prizes

Comment #12

JimmySand9 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:47:35 GMT

Drop in the bucket. If they want more sales they need to bring back live, ball drawings for the daily draws, and have a massive increase in prize payout percentages for scratchers. Extending the period to claim prizes and letting people choose their payment option at the time of claim are moot points.

Comment #11

MeFirstYouLast — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:21:58 GMT

This law is not written for people like you. It was written for those who couldn't find their rear with both hands. Those that spend money and don't remember what they spent it on, or where the purchased item is located. We would call them idiots, but that isn't PLC. You have to have compassion for the idiots of the world. Thus, they extend the time line to a year. Makes every one feel warm and fuzzy

Comment #10

liberal47 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:03:42 GMT

Californians Against Gambling Expansion, hah what a joke!

No offense to any Cali people who read this, but I've been in the Golden State for six months now, and my opinion is that the lottery out here SUCKS. The Mega Millions prize payouts are all over the board. When it comes to hitting five white balls you stand the chance 9 times out of ten of not winning 250,000 but far less, maybe 160,000 on average, when the jackpot is below 200 million. Sure the chances of hitting five white balls is p... [ More ]

Comment #9

lottocalgal — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:55:05 GMT

I'd only need the amount of time it takes to find a reputable attorney, a financial advisor and I will be drving down to sacramento in a heartbeat! I would need roughly 2 to 3 weeks.

Comment #8

GamerMom — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:19:14 GMT

see i'm too paranoid to do that. i would go the next day; I'm too afraid something would happen to me or the ticket before turning it in.

Comment #7

GamerMom — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:16:51 GMT

ROFL

Comment #6

JackpotWanna — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:01:50 GMT

Maybe it is better to claim quickly. I recall a story where the store owner found the jackpot winner by using the store's video cam. Do you guys remember this

Comment #5

JackpotWanna — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:17:37 GMT

NY has it for 1 year too. I doubt I would wait for a whole year to claim the jackpot. Maybe 3 months will be fine. Lot of thing could happen within 1 year. If you can keep a secret, then 1 year would be great for planning your future. It also depends on your age too.

Comment #4

MeFirstYouLast — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:08:22 GMT

I would like to see them increase the deadline to twenty or thirty years; maybe even fifty. First of all, because stupid people need all the advantages society can give them. Also, maybe the original holder will die, and a more intelligent sibling will find the ticket and claim the prize.

The longer it takes for the state to grab the money, the better the chance some great-great granchild will find the ticket in the junk in the closet drawer.

Comment #3

benir4u — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:06:59 GMT

People in the middle of a divorce!!!! LOL

Comment #2

RJOh — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:04:07 GMT

In Ohio, another MegaMillions state, players still only have 180 days to claim their winnings.

Comment #1

hjones — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:54:29 GMT

Really.... Who in their right mind would want to wait a year?

Let's see, it would take about 2 days to set up a trust with a lawyer, set up a bank, change phone numbers and the like -- maybe all done within a week. That's all the time I'll need, especially to claim the prize anonymously. The sooner the better, just to maximize the interest that could be obtained.

Californians to get a full year to claim Mega Millions lottery prizes

Lottery Post — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:15:03 GMT

California lottery players originally had just 6 months to claim Mega winnings, while those in other states had 12. The change takes effect Jan. 1.

Californians who keep their winning Mega Millions lottery tickets in their sock drawers will soon get an additional six months to dig them out and cash them in.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation Wednesday that extends the time for claiming a jackpot in the multi-state lottery game from six months to a year.

The change, effective