Lotto: Unclaimed $75,000 will be divided up
Since the start of the gambling game, it’s been a tradition here at News 5 to interview the men and women on the now lengthy list of lucky Lotto winners. But since January second of this year, we’ve been patiently waiting to meet the holder of one of two tickets that claims half of a one hundred and fifty thousand dollar jackpot. But they never showed up. So now that the ninety-day deadline has come and gone, we were wondering what Tropical Gaming is going to do with all that money. But according to the company’s Managing Director, George Swift, the rules are specific when it comes to unclaimed prizes.
George Swift, Managing Director, Tropical Gaming
“Those prizes, or the monies to the extent that they’re unclaimed, are returned back to the participating public, people who buy our lottery. And it is done in several ways. One we can create special prizes, or secondly we can have additional jackpots, or thirdly we can add to existing jackpots. In the past we have chosen to introduce what we call bonus draws, giving the public two chances sometimes with one ticket of winning two jackpots. We have in the past also used these unclaimed prizes to add to existing jackpots, so we have different options. But what is important is that we always find some way of getting unclaimed prizes back in the hands of participating players.”
Patrick Jones
“What will happen to this particular seventy-five thousand dollars unclaimed prize?”
George Swift
“I am sure what we will do with this one, apart from getting back into the hands of some lucky player or players, is to do a mix. We probably will have a special draw or draws, and additionally introduce the excess monies as addition to existing prizes.”
Patrick Jones
“What would happen now if somebody holding that winning ticket would now suddenly appear at your office?”
George Swift
“Well that has never happened before, but I tell you what I will do, to make assurance doubly sure and although legally we can treat that prize as unclaimed and proceed to reissue it to create bonus draws, add to existing prizes, what we will do in this week, is to give that person another chance.”
According to Swift, the company has decided to extend the deadline to Thursday of this week. If the ticket holder doesn’t come forward by then, after Easter you can look for the unclaimed money to show up in the form of some special prizes or additions to existing jackpots. The winning numbers on the ticket are 3-7-12-14 and 24. The next Lotto draw is on Wednesday night for jackpot of seventy-two thousand, five hundred dollars.
