A Colorado Lotto player won $1.09 million and never claimed the ticket

A Colorado Lotto+ jackpot worth $1,090,202 went unclaimed when its deadline passed at 4:45 p.m. Thursday, FOX31 reported. The money now goes to the Colorado Lottery's beneficiaries instead of a winner.

The ticket was bought March 28 at a Conoco on 1095 North 1st Street in Berthoud, the lottery said, and it matched all six numbers drawn that night, 3, 11, 22, 23, 30, and 31. The odds of hitting the Colorado Lotto+ jackpot are 1 in 3,838,380.

The lottery put out a last-day notice Thursday morning urging anyone who bought a ticket in Berthoud for that drawing to check it. Nobody came forward. Players in Colorado get 180 days from the drawing to claim a jackpot game prize, and 180 days from the end of a game for scratch tickets. For a March 28 drawing, that ran out on September 24.

“The Lottery wants every winner to claim their prize and enjoy their winnings, and we remind players regularly to check their tickets,” a Colorado Lottery official told FOX31 in an email.

According to the station, the prize money will mainly support Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Conservation Trust Fund, and outdoor programs. The lottery says it has invested more than $4.6 billion in Colorado.

The lottery keeps a public list of unclaimed prizes from its jackpot games, showing the amount and the store that sold each ticket. Across the country, unclaimed prizes add up to more than $1 billion a year, and where that money ends up varies by state. Prizes of $600 or more in Colorado can be claimed at any of the lottery's four claims centers, online, or by mail.

Sources

Colorado Lottery: Colorado Lotto+ $1 million jackpot ticket expires today

FOX31 Denver: Colorado lottery winner misses out on $1.09M

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