Millions in lottery winnings go unclaimed

By LARRY HARTSTEIN

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

If you win Friday's $325 million lottery, will you pick up your winnings?

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John Spink, jspink@ajc.com The Georgia Lottery kiosk at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport North Baggage Claim was busy with foot traffic Tuesday, hours before the drawing for $252 million.

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John Spink, jspink@ajc.com, John Spink Sabrina Li (left) of Atlanta bought Mega Million tickets for her parents, her husband and herself Tuesday from Natoria Hill (right) at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport as Laurette Spicer, (center) who just arrived from Milwaukee, gets ready to buy as well. Li said she always buys a ticket when it gets more than $200,000.

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John Spink, jspink@ajc.com, John Spink Bryan Byars of East Point always buys $5 dollars worth of Mega Millions every Tuesday and Friday. He stopped by the kiosk at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Are you playing?

Tonight's Mega Millions jackpot is estimated at $252 million. Did you buy a ticket?

Yes, I'm a regular player. Yes, when the jackpot is this big, I'm in. No, I don't like the odds. No, I don't believe in gambling.

Vote

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Silly question, but more prizes go unclaimed than you might imagine.

The Georgia Lottery says $20 million went unclaimed in fiscal year 2008 alone, $25 million the year before.

“Most unclaimed prizes are for free tickets or very small amounts like $1 or $2 that for whatever reason people don’t claim,” lottery spokeswoman Tandi Reddick said.

But in April 2005, an $18 million Lotto South winner never claimed the prize after buying the ticket in Ellenwood.

“We really just have no way of knowing why,” Reddick said.

Players in draw games, like tonight’s Mega Millions, have 180 days to claim their prize. Instant tickets are valid for 90 days.

In 1998, a Lilburn couple found a $1.6 million ticket in a drawer 173 days after the drawing. They redeemed it the next day -- six days before it would have expired.

The unclaimed money represents a tiny fraction of Georgia Lottery sales, which hit $3.5 billion last year.

By law, the lottery returns unclaimed money to the prize pool for future games and special prize promotions. In addition, the lottery annually transfers $200,000 in unclaimed money to the state Department of Human Resources for education and treatment programs for problem gambling.

Mega Millions, played in 12 states, has rolled over 13 times since the last winner July 7. A single winner in tonight’s 11 p.m. drawing could take a $159 million lump sum, or $9.6 million annually for 26 years.

Odds of winning are 1 in 175 million.