$2 million in Delaware Lottery prizes goes unclaimed every year

After going unclaimed for three months, a $50,000 Delaware Lottery prize was finally awarded earlier this week in Delaware, but about $2 million in prizes is never claimed every year.

A 69-year-old Ellendale man, who wishes to remain anonymous, saw an article about the $50,000 Powerball lottery prize from the June 13 drawing and finally came forward Monday.

Many Delaware Lottery players don't, though. 

The unclaimed prize money from drawing games and instant games all goes to Delaware's general fund. 

Since 2009, 21 lottery tickets for prizes of $10,000 or more have not been turned into the Delaware Lottery in time. Delaware Lottery winners have one year from the date of the drawing or the end of sales to claim their prizes. 

Topping the list of unclaimed prizes since 2009 is a Multi-win Lotto ticket sold for a 2012 drawing. Its value: $116,020.

There also have been two $50,000 Powerball tickets, one $25,000 Mega Millions ticket, 13 $10,000 Powerball tickets, three $10,000 Mega Millions tickets and one $10,000 Hot Lotto ticket that have become worthless pieces of paper since 2009, according to Delaware Lottery Director Vernon Kirk.

While Delaware Lottery officials provided the list of big unclaimed prizes dating back to 2009, a $5 million Powerball prize and a $200,000 Powerball prize went unclaimed before 2009, according to The News Journal.

A lawsuit was filed over the $5 million prize in 2004.

Bob Palese, who was a 48-year-old Bear resident, claimed the winning ticket, bought for the March 21, 2003, drawing, was destroyed when it went through a washer and dryer in a pair of jeans. But he said he knew what the other number combinations were on the winning ticket because he kept the card that he filled out to buy his ticket. The Delaware Supreme Court sided with a lower court in its decision that he had no case.

The $200,000 unclaimed prize was sold at the Amtrak station in Wilmington for the April 5, 2006, drawing.

Today there are two big Delaware Lottery prizes without takers:

• A Multi-win Lotto ticket worth $59,100 was sold for the Dec. 29 drawing at Redner's Warehouse Market, 25 Greentree Drive, Dover. The winning numbers are 01-03-09-13-31-33.
• A Mega Millions ticket worth 10,000 was sold for the Jan. 2 drawing at Shore Stop, 1612 S. Du Pont Highway, Dover. The winning numbers are 01-42-47-64-70 and Mega Ball 22.

Nationwide, $2.89 billion in lottery winnings were never claimed in the fiscal year 2017, according to a CNN report.

Here are some of the nation's biggest unclaimed lottery prizes:

• In 2016, the winner of a $63 million California Lottery prize failed to come forward. It was the largest unclaimed jackpot in California Lottery history.
• In 2011, a $77 million Powerball winner never turned in the ticket in Georgia.
• In New York, a $68 million Mega Millions lottery prize went unclaimed for a 2002 prize. Fritzner Bechette claimed in a lawsuit that he "lost the ticket in a non-retrievable situation," but a court ruled against him.

DELAWARE LOTTERY NEWS:

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