THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 30, 1995 TAG: 9506300511
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MICHELE SNIPE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
As the 5 p.m. deadline approached, the hopes of lottery officials waned. The person who'd bought the $11.2 million lottery ticket had not come forward.
With four minutes to go, lottery spokeswoman Paula Otto was preparing to send out a news release with the bad news.
``It was a big jackpot. We're disappointed,'' she said.
For the next 20 years, in monthly installments, the state lottery will award the unclaimed prize to the Literary Fund. It will add up to $563,000 each year. The fund is used for teacher retirements and to make low-interest loans to local school boards.
The lottery launched a vigorous campaign to find the winner as the June 29 deadline approached. Officials distributed fliers Monday at the Great Neck Road 7-Eleven where the winning ticket was purchased and at regional offices state-wide. The fliers said ``MISSING!'' and displayed the winning number - 13-23-25-29-32-33.
They also ran a message along the bottom of every lottery ticket sold, beginning last Saturday.
``We feel an obligation to make the public aware of the prize,'' Otto said. ``We're in the business of paying prizes and we hoped that we might get the attention of whoever the person was.''
Winners have 180 days to claim their money. This is the second time that a ticket purchased in this area went unclaimed. In 1993, prize money from a ticket purchased at a Virginia Beach Farm Fresh was donated to the fund. That one was worth $1.9 million. Since 1988, the lottery has given $30 million to the fund.
``We're disappointed that a winner didn't come forward,'' Otto said, ``but we know that the money will be used to build schools across the commonwealth. It will be used well.'' by CNB