Winner of $46 million jackpot comes forward

Wayne Parry

Friday, June 15, 2001 | 10:44 a.m.

NEWARK, N.J. -- A Passaic man who waited nearly a year to claim his $46 million Big Game lottery jackpot came forward Friday to receive his prize from Acting New Jersey Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco.

Melvin B. Milligan, 40, said he knew he had some old lottery tickets in a junk drawer and dug them out last week after seeing news reports about the unclaimed jackpot.

Milligan, a computer technician, said in a prepared statement that his first priority was to "take care of his family." He then planned to look for a home and "take a cruise somewhere."

Lottery officials said Milligan still has the option to take a lump sum payoff option worth $23.7 million or accept an annuity worth $46 million.

The winning ticket was claimed at Quick Stop store in Clifton on June 7. Milligan was told to mail it to the lottery commision in Trenton.

Three days after New Jersey lottery officials said no one had stepped forward to claim the ticket from the June 9, 2000, Big Game drawing, the ticket arrived in the mail to the lottery's Trenton headquarters.

The letter, sent via regular mail, was postmarked June 7 -- two days before the one-year deadline for claiming the prize.

"I was in shock for a while, and just drove around," Milligan said. "There was an envelope attached to the claim form so I just mailed it in. Somehow, I knew the lottery would get it, and I knew they'd call.

The ticket for the multistate lottery was sold at the Krauszer's convenience store in Montvale on June 9, 2000 -- the day of the drawing. The winning numbers were 6, 7, 25, 34 and 45, and the Big Money Ball number 2.

Milligan called the store Friday morning to thank owner Hemang Patel, said the store owner's sister, Dipita Patel.

"He called here and said, 'Thank you for the ticket,' " she said. "He said, 'You'll see me on TV at about noon.' "

If the prize had not been claimed, the money would have gone to New Jersey and the other six states that participate in the game: Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Illinois, Virginia and Georgia.

Shannon Cadres, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts lottery, told the New York Times the ticket had been reviewed, and "This is clearly a valid claim under New Jersey rules. We are thrilled that the Big Game prize has been claimed."