Wait times for lottery prize payouts doubled in California

Comment #25

JackPotTad — Sat, 11 Sep 2021 07:57:59 GMT

Good things come to those who wait .... I would gladly( volunteer)wait for anyone that doesn't feel like waiting for their millions. Give it to me baby, C'mon

Comment #24

Bleudog101 — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 12:11:22 GMT

IDK if would help, but years ago when we had more caring members of Congress inequities were handled through what was called a Congressional. Though never saw one in the Army but was told the folder would say Congressional. Do not cover. In other words this would say leave on the top of the pile of whatever may have been on a desk so it would not be forgotten about.

How about alerting the media. Certainly TV stations your way have Investigative Reporting. How about State Congress/Senators to

Comment #23

Hcatguy — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 11:06:27 GMT

Apparently the wait times are beyond 16 weeks now. My wife won 6500 (two tickets) with the Daily 4, and we turned in the winning tickets at the Sacramento office on April 18th, this year. Still no checks have arrived after 17 weeks. She also won another Daily 4 which we turned in about a month ago, I'd say there is a good possibility we won't see that winnings check this year, the way things are going. Of course the wait times are being blamed on COVID but with vaccinations and masking that shou... [ More ]

Comment #22

ieatdirt — Sat, 14 Aug 2021 03:47:55 GMT

Follow up on my earlier post:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/constructive-receipt.asp

This could work both ways. You could probably claim it in the prior year if it s to your advantage. But for those who were asking whether you could move to another state to avoid state taxes I m sure the losing state could claim that you could ve taken the money earlier and put the squeeze on you.

Comment #21

Bleudog101 — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 23:47:14 GMT

Recently read on KLC website that they in addition to the places that will cash up to $5K, there are also ones strategically placed throughout KY that will cash up to $25K. That is taking care of customers! Of course big wins still have to go to Louisville!

California should take this as an example that not all winners need to travel to one of their many claim centers if smaller prizes could be taken care of @ convenience stores like here.

Comment #20

Stack47 — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 20:54:04 GMT

Customer Service Center wait times are also longer than usual due to the volume of claim inquiries, the California Lottery said in an update late June. Lottery staff is working overtime to decrease processing time.

Read in that same update the California Lottery said players should expect wait times between 10 and 16 weeks because of the pandemic. The normal wait time is 4 to 6 weeks. Claiming prizes over $600 is more complicated than in other states and why the pandemic complicated it even

Comment #19

Stat$talker — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 18:19:27 GMT

Maybe winners should talk to a Lawyer about appropriate charging of intrest on their winning if not dispensed to them in a reasonable timely manner,.. that'll make'em straighten up fly right...!! Afterall no such delayed payment notice are on the playslips or website rules..

Or better yet,.. send Ole Cottoneyedjoe there to get a job as our inside Man to investigate..

Comment #18

cottoneyedjoe — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 17:41:47 GMT

I can't see them getting that many winners as to backlog the system.

I agree. I tried to roughly estimate how many scratchers and draw game prizes over $599 are won per day. Maybe between 6000 and 7000 for scratchers, and on a good day maybe 60 for draw games. And some of those get lost and are never claimed. That seems manageable considering our population. The covid excuses are getting tiresome considering that we have mask mandates everywhere and CA state employees are vaccinated at a muc... [ More ]

Comment #17

Bleudog101 — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 16:47:47 GMT

You'd think that would happen this far into the 21st Century.

We were discussing we're getting a little tired of Covid this Covid that to us as an excuse to cut back services. I can't see them getting that many winners as to backlog the system. Don't get us wrong, we take Covid-19 and Delta variant very seriously and soon folks the variant from Peru will be upon us. Those who did not take Dr. Fauci seriously when he said Covid-19 will mutate still won't acknowledge that fact...and here w... [ More ]

Comment #16

Bleudog101 — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 16:43:19 GMT

Without a valid SSAN this cuts 'freebies' down considerably.

Comment #15

Speler — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 16:07:57 GMT

They scripted their website, downgraded their service and put a giant ugly alien on their front page. Do not expect to much, smoke a joint, get drunk or visit some Asian brothel and get an Indian quatre-mains ... . Get over it

Comment #14

Speler — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 15:54:36 GMT

I once had a 5/6 in Belgium. I went to the lotto central of this provincial city. It was over 1660 euros for one ticket, and a small amount for the other ticket. They scanned and paid out on my French-Belgian online bank account. The money immediately was on my bank account. There was no one banking day, it was there.

The central isn't there anymore. The price for a line doubled, the chances became smaller just like the payouts. The next lotto central is either at the sea or in Ghent if not B... [ More ]

Comment #13

CDanaT — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 13:20:54 GMT

With all the illegal aliens out there, getting all the freebies, I can see your point on the backlog to see whether they need to hold 24% or the 30% fed tax rate.

Comment #12

ieatdirt — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 04:29:47 GMT

What happens when that delay pushes your receipt of the money into the next tax year? Could make a huge difference as tax rates are likely to go up. I believe you re taxed based on the date you receive the funds not when the win occurred or even when you submit the claim

Comment #11

dannyct — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 22:59:48 GMT

The California Lottery should embrace the 21st century and offer online services. It would be very convenient for players and very efficient for the Lottery.

Comment #10

noise-gate — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 22:43:42 GMT

* Ah, silliness, l will bite. It's possible that the CA lottery is going to conduct forensic tests to see if those winning tickets are truly legit.

They could go looking for bamboo in those tickets, if they have time. The CA lottery not going to stand for winning tickets manufactured in Taiwan or is it Korea? Perhaps we have finally happened upon the true nature for this delay

Comment #9

cottoneyedjoe — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 21:41:28 GMT

Exactly.

Comment #8

sully16 — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 20:47:31 GMT

Yes, they need deserve better leadership in Cali. it's not fair to the people, they paid their money, now give them their prize. Vote the bums out.

Comment #7

hearsetrax — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 20:34:14 GMT

care to wager on the odds they might have to wait till the next presidential election

Comment #6

Mata Garbo — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 19:49:19 GMT

About 4 years ago I played my birthday on the Cash4 drawing game in my state and ended up winning $5,000. I took the ticket to the Lottery Headquarters in Nashville, checked in at the security desk, went into the payout room, identified myself, presented them with the signed ticket, sat down and waited about 9 or 10 minutes before they called me up to the window and issued me a check for 5 grand. I said thank you and left the buiding. Not sure why it would take any state 3 or 4 months to issue a... [ More ]

Comment #5

db101 — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 19:33:03 GMT

They are collecting interest on that money. They have no incentive to pay winners in a reaonable time frame.

Comment #4

noise-gate — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 18:55:26 GMT

* l guess the person who won $4,472,553 last night will receive their check in Jan 2022.

Comment #3

cottoneyedjoe — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 18:40:00 GMT

CALottery has just 9 district offices for a population of over 40 million (you need to include the illegals in that count because they can and do play the lottery.) They currently have just 11 job openings, with 10 of them at the Sacramento headquarters, and none of them are claims processing positions. But apparently the deputy director of sales marketing's need of an assistant is a top hiring priority.

I'm not giving these idiots another dollar until they start paying winners in a timely m... [ More ]

Comment #2

Droptop209 — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 18:06:35 GMT

If I win $599 or more I'm claiming the next day. Gonna be 4+ months wait time to receive winnings. I'm claiming ASAP.

Comment #1

PHIL85 — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 17:41:26 GMT

Stop being a crybaby and just be thankful for the win. With reduced staff and a huge backload of claims it takes time to process payments.

Wait times for lottery prize payouts doubled in California

Lottery Post — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:31:03 GMT

Lottery anticipates return to normal claims operations later this year

By Kate Northrop

Lottery players are continuing to win big in California but are having to wait twice the amount of time it normally takes to receive their check, with some waiting more than three months.

Since late June, lottery prize payouts have slowed to a crawl in California as the Lottery adjusts its operations during the ongoing pandemic.

Normally, the processing time for claims is four to six weeks,