RYE, N.Y. — Check your pockets, look under your couch, search your car, claim your million dollar grand prize before it's too late.
"1-6-7-20-49, Powerball 23? are the million-dollar numbers from the drawing Aug. 25, 2012, but the owner of the winning ticket still remains a mystery. The ticketholder has until August 25 to step forward or forfeit the money to a prize pool for future winners.
Ralph Alfalahi has put up signs on both entrances of his Playland Market, a Rye deli that sold the winning ticket, to encourage customers to check their tickets and come forward.
"We've had a lot of winners for $500 and maybe even a few thousand, but the million dollar ticket, that's the first time we've seen a winner like that," recounts employee Alex Delgado.
Delgado admits that he thinks about the prize money sometimes. "If nobody comes forth with the winning ticket, I think that the money should come to the store and I'd get a cut," Delgado says jokingly. "I'd cash the money immediately and pay off my college loans," he adds.
New York State Gaming Commission Spokesperson Christy Calicchia says that there are a number of reasons lotteries go unclaimed. "All the common reasons you can think of, from lost tickets to tickets being washed in jean pockets," says Calicchia.
For this fiscal year alone, there are nearly $28 million worth of prizes, ranging from instant tickets and lottery draw games, to Powerball, Megamillions, and the Sweet Million lotto, that have been left unclaimed.
"Sometimes players don't realize that there is more than one prize," Calicchia explains, "when they hear that the winning ticket, like the recent New Jersey winners, was bought in another state, they lose interest and forget there are other tiered prizes."
With this prize, after state and federal taxes are calculated, the winner could take home an estimated $662,000. If this Powerball is left unclaimed, it will be the sixth-largest prize that has gone without a taker in the history of New York lotteries.
Amazingly, the largest sum gone uncollected was $68 million from a Mega Millions drawing in Brooklyn back in 2002.
Those at the New York Lottery are "hopeful that whoever is the holder of this ticket will come forward and claim the prize, especially with all the emphasis that we are putting on it," says Calicchia.
Why is a grand prize powerball ticket only 1 million
It was not a grand prize winner. The writer should not have included the PB because it was only a match 5 second tier winning ticket, not a match 5 plus PB jackpot winner. The second tier prize is $1 million ($2 million if PowerPlay is purchased for extra $1).
Maybe the winner expired or more likely threw ticket out by mistake. At this late date doubt it will be found.
Being a small time player most tickets bought for a specific drawing was 6 tickets. Most of the time, just buy one ticket per drawing. They are checked the next date at the state lottery website.
I cringe when seeing lottery players giving their ticket to the store clerk to check for winning numbers. Fortunately NJ has installed ticket readers so players can scan the ticket themselves.
At least California is not fretting over this ticket , Powerball began to be sold Statewide in April of this year for the first time.
Eight days left I sure do hope the winner comes forward
Me too, dallascowboyfan, even if this PB 2nd prize winner is from California, New Jersey, or outside of the good 'ole U.S. of A.
to bad
It seems that the Lunatics in Albany will get some extra money .........
It's probably someone from NJ.
If It Is, they're probably from the northern part of the state, seems like that's where the winners come from most of the time.
But why buy their tix. In Rye N.Y. I'm not even sure where that Is.
Anywhere near the Jersey border ?
It's not like it hasn't happened before, someone waiting until the last day to verify their ticket and claim the prize. It could happen again.
Okay, I looked It up, the store Is close to the CT. border and I-95,
but more Importantly It's near a beachfront amusement park.
Picture this, family comes from somewhere to visit the amusement park,
The Dad goes to get their lunch at this place a few blocks away and picks up a lottery ticket while he's there.
The ticket Is In his car, that Is If he still owns It, could be traded In by now, or maybe It was a rental car.
This ticket was forgotten about before he got home.
I wanna go to that deli and have a corned beef in Rye.
Well, that sure would taste good on some rye bread there.
Im predicting it will take CA at least a year to win a jackpot, maybe 2-3 years. Maybe never.
Yeah, I hope I can have it on Rye too!
I love Rye bread. Many years ago, a colleague from NY would visit his mother there on occasion and bring me back a loaf of NY jewish rye bread. So good. The store versions do not compare.
Yea, corned beef on rye w/spicy mustard !
plus,
Why ya talking about tasty food when It's time to go to sleep ?
The lotteries usually don't make a big fuss about unclaimed money. To them, its pure easy money or profit. The more people that fail to cash-in, the better for the lotteries.
Unclaimed $1 million lottery ticket to expire
^now that would be a shame
Maybe they don't have a car to go collect the money or maybe they have a car but no gas
Most people will walk a thousand miles, easily, to go collect $1mil. $$$CASH$$$.
I check / scan my power ball & mega millions on my smart phone ASAP
I would hitch hike my way to the $$$$$ ASAP ???? I wouldn't tell them ppl giving me a ride where I was heading to. I ain't that crazy just a lil
The person who lost this ticket, is probably the person who needs it the most.
yupp who ever lost it needs it more then ever
its aFREAKING WINNER duhhhhh
no <snip> sherlock
kool i am loving that pic it rocks ya herd
maybeN he got hit by a car on his way to check his ticket
It probably won't matter, but the winner really only has until friday the 23rd.
I wonder if the winner was able to claim the prize? If not, it is quite unfortunate for the winner, maybe he doesn't even know that he already won. Well as for me, I keep my tickets and I make sure to check if my numbers match the winning numbers. Hopefully I will be able to hit the jackpot prize soon!