Connecticut Jackpot Expires
Last Updated: Tuesday 3rd July 2018, 12:40
A lottery jackpot worth $3.5 million has officially expired in Connecticut, USA. The jackpot was for the Classic Lotto game and the winning lottery ticket was purchased at Coventry Getty Mart in February 2006. Connecticut Lottery Corporation officials had been hoping that the lucky player would come forward to beat the deadline, but this didn't happen, so the winning ticket is now worthless.
The only possible reprieve for the winner is if they have already mailed the winning ticket and the letter was postmarked prior to the deadline. In that instance officials say that the ticket would be considered as valid, but in reality that particular set of circumstances looks very unlikely.
This is not to say that nobody has come forward to "claim" that they are the elusive winner. Connecticut Lottery Corporation officials have in fact received 190 "lost ticket" claims. Filing such a claim costs a flat $100, but 190 people obviously believed the $3.5 million prize at stake to be worth the outlay, even though it should have been common sense to anyone that the Classic Lotto organisers would look into each claim thoroughly, and not simply write out a cheque to the first person with an almost convincing "I lost it somewhere" story.
The Classic Lotto game requires players to pick six numbers from 1 to 44. If they match all six numbers, they win the jackpot prize. The odds of them doing this are 1 in 7,059,052. Three lower prize tiers offer consolations - $2,000 for matching 5 numbers, $50 for matching 4 numbers and $2 for matching 3 numbers. The overall odds of winning any prize are therefore 1 in 39.3. Tickets cost $1 each.
The unclaimed prize of $3.5 million jackpot would have equated to a lump sum payout of $2.2 million, so Connecticut Lottery Corporation officials are now deciding what to do with this money. Their options are to share the money among other prize winners, add the $2.2 million to the general fund or use it for marketing purposes.
And the moral of all this? Well, no matter what kind of lottery you play, you should check your tickets as soon as you can and make any claim you are entitled to without delay. If you don't, and as this story illustrates, you could miss out on millions...