What are the largest unclaimed lottery prizes?
Source: Listopedia – YouTube
Here is the list of the 10 largest unclaimed prizes won in the lottery.
Number 10: $14 million [00:10]
On December 29th 2010, Iowan Eddie Raymond Tipton’s have got lottery ticket worth $14.3 million. He wasn’t able or allowed to collect his winnings. Tipton’s prohibitive problem is that he himself is a lottery employee. He is therefore, banned from participating in the lottery. For almost one year, his ticket remained unclaimed, prompting curiosity and suspicion. In late 2011, a New York lawyer attempted to cash in the ticket. Tipton was recognized on closed caption television. It is claimed that he had asked this lawyer an another acquaintance to help him in his quest to redeem the cash. He is alleged to have tampered with a lottery machine to ensure that he would win the draw. He was consequently found guilty of two counts of fraud.
Number 9: $16 million [00:56]
In November 2013, one third of a $50 million Florida jackpot went unclaimed. The winner, who was entitled to their subsequent share of $16.66 million, never claimed their mounds of cash. Despite having 188 days to collect the winnings. The ticket was bought in Hillsborough County. Other winning tickets which were claimed there, were purchased in Delaware and Louisiana. It was the largest unclaimed jackpot in Florida since 2003. The winnings were instead, invested in Florida education.
Number 8: $31 million [01:31]
The United States MegaMillions lottery is a gigantic jackpot with plenty of winners raking in some big bucks over the years. But it also has the number of unclaimed tickets and unlucky victors left empty handed. A ticket bought in Queens, New York on August 1st, 2006 worth $31 million was unclaimed. In New York alone, a grand total of $135 million worth of the MegaMillions lottery winnings has been unclaimed over the years.
Number 7: $46 million [02:02]
A New Jersey big game lottery ticket bought on June 9th, 2000 is another brain boggling example of an untouched goldmine. The Grand Prize would have endowed the winner with a massive $46 million prize. Instead, that unclaimed prize was distributed between those seven states, which participate in the game. Let’s hope that they spend it on something exciting.
Number 6: $50 million [02:25]
In September 2013, another grand wad of cash was left without a recipient. The date to collect the $50 million jackpot prize expired. The Florida lottery winner didn’t turn up to grab their fortune. Hence, made it the largest Florida lottery jackpot to ever unclaimed. Hassan Basin sold the winning ticket at Kohl’s food market. He was awarded with $10000 for doing so. At least some would profit the jackpot, which Hassan would probably have preferred. Instead, that massive lottery win was returned to the lottery company.
Number 5: $51 million [02:56]
$51.7 million Indianapolis jackpot was left untouched after six lengthy months. It ended in inevitable disappointment in March of 2003. The winner, whose victorious ticket was bought in the proceeding September, is presumed to have lost their slip. News reports and investigations were unable to find whoever they may be. The other half of the jackpot was picked up months earlier by someone slightly luckier.
Number 4: $63 million [03:25]
Another expensive oversight was the $63 million Superlottoplus grand prize. This lottery win was untouched in Southern California in February 2016. The six-month deadline expired in controversy. A local man Brandy Milliner claimed that he attempted to cash in the winnings slip in January, but was told that the ticket was in too poor condition. Looking at the ticket, it’s too difficult to see why. He is attempting to sue for breach of contract and legal fees, in addition to the amount of the mighty grand prize. He claims that he was initially given a congratulatory letter from the Superlottoplus team. Before the offer, the money was withdrawn. A lottery spokesperson speculated that Milliner may simply be lying, and that his alleged winning ticket may be a fraud. The progress of the case currently remains unknown.
Number 3: $68 million [04:13]
Brooklyn man, Dr. Fitzer Burchett, filed a $63 million lawsuit against the New York lottery after claiming that he lost his winning ticket. According to his own testimony, he has been attempting to cash in his invisible ticket for almost one year in a battle culminating in December 2003. The winning ticket is actually worth $68 million, but Burchett seems generously willing to settle for $5 million less. He reckons he lost it in a non-retrievable situation. The result of his dodgy attempt to sue is officially unknown, but it’s not difficult to estimate the outcome.
Number 2: $77 million [04:50]
In December 2011, an enormous $77 million jackpot was left, after six months of unsuccessful searching. The Powerball pot is of course the largest unclaimed prize in the history of the game. The unclaimed money was returned to the prize pool. The winning loser in Tallapoosa has still never been found.
Number 1: £63.8 million (around $82 million) [05:14]
In the UK there was lottery ticket with unclaimed prize in December 2012. The grand prize of £63.8 million, which equates to today’s $82 million, is the biggest ever UK jackpot to go without a winner. The unlucky winner purchased the ticket in Hertfordshire. There was a publicity drive including leaflets and a decorated vehicle. However, lottery operator was unable to find the intended recipient of the winnings in euromillions lottery. The money instead went back to the National Lottery, and funded its various charity projects.
