Camelot which runs the lottery in the UK, has said they are expecting their year end sales figures to be about £5.7 Billion.

The beats their previous record year of £5.5 Billion from 13 years ago.

That figure made me do a double take.

Since the lottery started in the UK back in 1994, the number of prizes unclaimed has now reached a phenomenal £1.1 Billion – yes over a billion.

Ann Lepine from Fort Smith, NWT, felt lucky enough back in 2007 when she and her husband hit the jackpot on the Canada Lotto.

The couple collected a huge $11 Million on the 6/49 game in October 2007.

In Vestal a supermarket owner just became Broome County’s first millionaire of 2011.

He bought his scratch off instant ticket for the ‘$500,000,000 Extravaganza’ at Wegmans in Johnson City.

Saturday evenings Pick 4 lottery draw was not a good one for the Maryland purse strings. But it was good for players.

The result drawn was 4-4-4-4, a very popular combination that 2,800 players had bought.

We regularly hear the stories of ‘lottery winners gone bad’ – but that’s just because we’re obsessed with bad luck stories for some crazy reason. So that’s what the press give us.

It just kept rolling on, but finally that great big Powerball jackpot has been won.

The winning ticket for the $182.1 Million jackpot was sold in Kissimmee, Florida.

Here’s a great new TV show (if you can get the TLC channel).

Already a hit, the show “The Lottery Changed My Life” is a showcase of people winning big on the lottery across the USA.

Rakel Daniele in Fort Lee, New Jersey was excited to see her lottery numbers had come up.

The excitement quickly faded however when she discovered the $250,000 she thought she had won, was actually a broadcasting mistake!

The New York lottery will today present a big cardboard check for $5 Million to a couple from Elmont, Long Island.

If you’re quick (and live nearby) you can catch the award presentation at the King Kullen supermarket in West Merrick Road, Valley Stream.