There cannot exist a more sensational feeling than winning the jackpot in the lottery – only to have your joy squashed by finding out that your ticket has expired- and you can no longer claim your winnings.
As highly unlikely such things may seem to you, it happens all too often.
CNN, the American news channel, estimates that around $800 million (€725 Million) worth of cash go unclaimed every year. The figure for unclaimed jackpots reached an unbelievable $2.04 billion (€1.85 billion) in 2013 alone – and those figures only stand in the United States.
Misread or unchecked lottery tickets are a real problem. Whether they’re forgotten in some dark and dusty drawer, lost down the back of the couch, or mistakenly thrown out with the trash, precious life changing tickets go missing on almost a daily basis. And while of course the vast lot of these unclaimed mega jackpots constitute only a fraction of players, every now and again a phenomenal great fortune goes unclaimed.
Here are ten of the biggest prizes flushed down the loo, each worth more than $10,000,000 (€9 Million).
#10 $10 Million Goes Unclaimed in Florida.
Back in 2003, one of the earliest and biggest unclaimed jackpots in history occurred when the winner of a $10,400,000 (€9.2 Million) Powerball jackpot prize never stepped forward to collect their fortune. The single ticket was purchased in Tampa Bay, Florida, and even though the missing lottery winner never took it home, the store that sold the ticket was awarded its bonus of $10,000 (€9000) -so not all bad news here!
#9 Summer of 94’ in Texas.
A huge jackpot of $12.4 million (€10.8 Million) went unclaimed on the Lotto Texas game way back in 1994, which remains the earliest unclaimed jackpot on this top 10 list, and is also still one of the most maddening to date. This story was the first of three Lotto Texas jackpots to go unclaimed and never found for over the course of the following 20 years, with another mishap following both in 2003 and 2011.
#8 Find The Fraudster.
Although this unclaimed $14.3 million (€12.9 Million) jackpot is considerably less than some other on this list, this is perhaps the most interesting story to be in the running of unclaimed lottery prize history. In 2010, one ‘lucky’ ticket holder from Des Moines, Iowa, nabbed the jackpot on the Hot Lotto game. Only nobody came forward to claim the prize until almost a year later when Crawford Shaw, a lawyer from New York stepped forward, supposedly representing an anonymous trust.
In order to rule out foul play, the lottery officials demanded that the legal representative release the names of those involved – the claims were immediately dropped and It wasn’t until 2015 that the authorities arrested a Hot Lotto worker who had apparently rigged the winning ticket numbers (against regulations) and hired legal representation to claim the prize on his behalf.
#7 Twice Shy In Florida
Almost ten years after the Powerball fiasco in Tampa, another mishap occurred involving the very same lottery in Hillsborough County, Florida. This time around, the prize was even higher at $16.66 million (€14.5 Million), a third stake in the $50 million (€45.2 Million) jackpot. Rather than a $10,000 (€9000) bonus, the convenience store which sold the winning ticket, received a crazy $25,000 (€22,600) for their troubles! Now that’s inflation for you.
#6 The Big Apple, Big Losers.
As the most populous city in the U.S, it come as no surprise that New York has seen its share of lottery’s biggest losers. No less than three MegaMillions winners have lost their chance to live a life of opulence by failing to cash in on their winning tickets on time – the first of which on this list was in 2007, when an anonymous person missed out on their $31 million jackpot (€28 million).
#5 The second fiasco in New York.
The second big mishap to occur in New York was in April 2003 when a ticket bought on Broadway in Brooklyn did not surface. Had the ticket owner been aware of their haul and come forward to claim their fortune, they would have walked with a giant $46 million (€41.6 Million) cheque. Like the other unfortunate player, this poor soul won and lost the jackpot on the very popular MegaMillions game.
#4 2003: Unlucky Year for Florida Lotto Winners.
Florida state has seen its largest lottery prize unclaimed when the owner of the $50 million (€45 Million) jackpot failed to step forward in September of 2003. Local lottery officials speculate that the ticket holder must have been a tourist passing by.
#3 Christmas Brings Out the Grinch of New York.
A third New Yorker was hit with bad luck when they missed out on an enormous jackpot and ruined what could have been a very special Christmas. A MegaMillions jackpot of $68 million (€61.5 million) was won on Christmas Eve, but its recipient never showed up to claim the prize. So while the not-to-lucky participant missed out on a life changing Christmas present, they probably realised, which is better…sort of.
#2 Biggest unclaimed Powerball Jackpot in US History.
$77 million (€69.7 Million) remain unclaimed by its winner in 2011, making this single ticket, the biggest ever unclaimed prize jackpot in US lottery history. The money was eventually funnelled back into Powerball, increasing future jackpot funds as well as assisting in education in the Georgia state. Not all is lost and at least it went for to a good cause.
#1 World’s Worst Loser
With every other spot on this list coming from the States, it might come as a surprise to you that the top spot in biggest unclaimed lottery jackpots is not American, too. The biggest lottery jackpot mishap on record happened in 2012, when a ticket purchased in the Stevenage and Hitchin, England amassed £63.4 million (€74 Million). As with all the stories in this list, the prize was never claimed, meaning it will go down as the largest unclaimed jackpot to date.
Check Those Lottery Tickets!
If there is one thing that these gut wrenching stories of treasure losses should have taught you, it’s to always check your numbers and tickets! Various lotteries have specific rules about how long you have to claim your jackpot, as a rule of thumb, six months is the average time.
Don’t get leave it till the last second –always check your tickets as soon as the draw is held. You never know, you could be the winner, making yourself a multimillionaire overnight!
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