The US Powerball is a very hard game to win.
The odds are a pretty horrendous 1 in 195,249,054. Let’s call it 1 in 195 Million for ease of thinking.
Pretty poor when you consider a more regular 6 balls from 49 draw has odds of 1 in 13 Million. That means you have to buy FIFTEEN Powerball tickets just to have to same odds of winning the big prize as a 6/49 game!
So you really don’t need to make your odds any worse by forgetting to check your tickets once in a while.
Or accidentally leaving them in your jeans pocket when doing the laundry.
Or giving them to your 5 year old to look after while they play in the park.
Or a hundred and one other ways that people manage to lose their tickets.
Which appears to be what has happened to one very unfortunate winner from West Georgia.
Well, a large part of the USA has Georgia on their mind this week, as they watched a massive $77 Million Powerball jackpot go unclaimed.
The prize expired on Monday, 180 days after the draw.
What Happens To Unclaimed Lottery Winnings?
Well, it depends.
In the USA some States divert the funds to educational resources.
According to the Georgia lottery the funds go back into a prize pool to be used for special promotions and ultimately finds it’s way back to players. With $200,000 a year funding a problem gambling program.
It that’s the case for the full Powerball jackpot, Georgia can at least look forward to some fantastic in-State lottery promotions for 2012.
Don’t Let This Happen To You
Treat every lottery ticket as a winner. Because until you know for certain it isn’t, that’s exactly what it might be.
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