A lottery player sitting on a $14.6 million jackpot had until the end of Monday to come forward in Arizona — or lose it all, officials said. The winner never showed up.
Monday's 5 p.m. deadline came and went and officials still don't know who purchased the ticket, they said.
"It's hard to see that not get claimed," Arizona lottery spokeswoman Jacqueline Keidel Martinez said Monday evening.
The ticket holder nailed all six numbers of an in-state game, The Pick, on June 5 setting a 180-day clock for that winning ticket to be claimed.
The jackpot sets a record for largest unclaimed jackpot, according to John Gilliland, Arizona Lottery spokesperson, who said the previous record was a $4 million The Pick jackpot that was drawn in 1999.
Lottery officials had held out hope that the winner would've come forward by the close of business on Monday.
"There is nothing more exciting for Arizona Lottery than to award a large jackpot, like this $14.6 million prize, so we are always a little sad when we see one of these prizes expire unclaimed," Arizona Lottery Executive Director Gregg Edgar said in a prepared statement on Monday.
The winning ticket was purchased at the Circle K store at 315 N. Litchfield Road in Goodyear, about 18 miles west of downtown Phoenix. A representative of Circle K's corporate owners in Laval, Quebec, could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday.
Because the winner did not act, the $14.6 million will be used for other games and to fund state programs benefiting abused children and Native American education, officials said.
"These dollars will be utilized now to enhance our player's experiences with future games and fund a variety of beneficiaries that have tremendous impact for our community," Edgar said.
Easy Come, Easy Go!
Arizona games, charities, and abused children thanks to the winner/s.
What if the ticket holder/s finds the ticket now. That would be a terrible feeling.
I wonder if the person was discouraged by the cashier?
I once had a cashier tell me I wasn't going to win a few years back. She was very irritating to me, and I never went back to that store.
Never showed up because the winner was a .........ROBOT.....dun dun dun.
State your source that a " robot" won.
Next you going to tell the forum that the Mars Rover discovered an unworkable washing machine on Mars left by Martians who have since moved on...
Why bother playing if you plan to lose or maybe the winner is in prison or .. err .. dead
$9.3 Million Cash Value...........................................Gone !!!!.........OUCH
The sad part about it was that it was way too easy for them to win & they didn't even get to claim it.
It might have been bought on a whim by someone "just passing though," forgotten about, then found and trashed weeks or months later without ever being checked.
On the other hand : What if Tommy Tipton came forward with the winning ticket G, but said he forgot about the deadline? Would you consider the Arizona lottery tainted?
*Tommy served only 75 days incarceration & is now a free man.
Yeah- only a thief would know.
I don't think he's gonna open that can of worms if it was him. Besides, if it's past the deadline he's sol.
The good news (if there is some) is whomever bought the ticket doesn't know they had a jackpot winner.