Unclaimed Big Game jackpot goes back to states

Geoff Mulvihill

Tuesday, June 12, 2001 | 11:02 a.m.

TRENTON, N.J. -- A $23.7 million lottery prize went unclaimed because no one could produce the winning ticket within a one-year deadline, officials said Sunday.

Saturday was the last day to turn in the June 9, 2000, ticket and collect the prize. The Big Game jackpot will be returned to the lottery agencies in the seven states that participate in the game, including Virginia.

The jackpot the night of the drawing was $46 million, but because the lump-sum payment option was chosen the ticket was worth $23,748,052, before taxes.

The ticket was sold at a Montvale, N.J., convenience store on the day of the drawing last year. The store collected a $10,000 commission even though the would-be multimillionaire didn't surface.

People who usually buy their tickets at the store spent last week searching for a ticket with the winning numbers -- 6, 7, 25, 34 and 45, and the Big Money Ball number 2.

New Jersey Lottery spokeswoman Annette Jenkins said officials heard from at least three people who were sure they had the ticket.

One man said he threw it away accidentally and that his trash had been hauled away. He learned the trash could have been taken to one of several places and he said he wasn't willing to dig through all the landfills.

A woman called to tell the lottery she had bought the winning ticket for her brother-in-law, who had since died. The survivors didn't know what he did with the ticket.

Lottery officials weren't swayed by the stories.

"You have to present the ticket to win," Jenkins said.

The states that take part in the game are New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Illinois, Virginia and Georgia.