Lottery officials still waiting for someone to claim jackpot

Tuesday, May 02, 2006 posted 10:49 AM EDT

AUGUSTA -- State lottery officials are still waiting for someone to come forward and claim an $8.45 million Megabucks jackpot.

Employees of D&L Country Store in Oakland last Thursday celebrated the announcement that they had sold the winning ticket. Selling the winning ticket netted the convenience store owners a $30,000 selling prize, but no one has claimed the Megabucks jackpot, Maine State Lottery Director Dan Gwadosky said.

"They could come at any point; we don't really know for sure," he said. "Every single person who comes in, we wonder if they might be the one."

And quite a few people did come into the offices of the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations on Monday. By about 3 p.m., the lottery had awarded $57,000 worth of prizes -- but still no sign of the Megabucks jackpot winner, Gwadosky said. The focus on larger jackpots tends to eclipse the everyday winnings, he said. Maine awards an average of $2.4 million each week through lottery winnings. Revenues generated from the Maine State Lottery return around $35 million to the state's general fund, and that figure is projected to increase to $50 million by 2009, Gwadosky said.

Related Links
	Lottery News & Stories
	Maine Lottery Results
	Search Past Maine Lottery Winning Numbers