$1 Million California Lottery Winner Lost Ticket
ROSEMEAD, Calif., March 13 (UPI) — The California Lottery said a $1 million Powerball jackpot will be donated to schools after the winner lost the ticket and failed to find it by the 180-day deadline.
Lottery officials said they released surveillance camera footage from the time the winning ticket was purchased at the Rosemead Supermarket Sept. 13 and the winner came forward after seeing himself on the news and told officials he had lost the ticket.
Officials said the deadline to claim the prize passed at 5 p.m. Thursday, so the $1,098,624 prize will instead be donated to California public schools.
The Rosemead Supermarket was still allowed to collect a $5,493 bonus for selling the winning ticket, officials said.
The California Lottery said nearly $800 million in prize money has gone unclaimed in the organization’s 30-year history, with $20 million going unclaimed in the 2013-2014 fiscal year.
