Lottery winners: You snooze, you Lose!

Tuesday, September 26, 2006 posted 11:11 AM EDT

Boise, Idaho -- Some lucky person living in Iowa is about to be $203 million richer, after winning the lottery on Saturday.

Someone in Boise also won $200,000. It's a somewhat common occurrence in the Treasure Valley but, sadly, it seems just as common are the chances of that money remaining unclaimed.

"This is our second $200,000 winner in a month," said David Workman, Idaho Lottery Commission spokesman.

To win $200,000 in the Idaho Lottery, you have to match all five sets of numbers, not including the Powerball.

The chances of that happening are one in 3.5 million.

And so far this year, an Idahoan has won it seven times. It's been a little longer since a resident has won the jackpot.

"We've been so close to having a big jackpot winner here that we're just ready to have one," said Workman.

While many wish for the big win, Workman reminds players that $200,000 is nothing to shrug off, although it does happen. In fact, that same amount has been waiting for some lucky person to claim for nearly six months now.

"Back on April 12 we had another match five winner -- a $200,000 thousand winner. The ticket was purchased at an Albertsons in Caldwell," he said.

So if you have an old ticket lying around, check it closely -- you may have won. The winning number is 16-26-34-35-41.

If you have it, call the lottery quick because time is running out.

"Now what happens is after 180 days, or on Oct. 6. If that prize has not been claimed, it gets turned back over to the state, and ultimately impacts our bottom line, which is the dividend for the schools," said Workman.

"It does get divided up between public schools and the permanent building fund," said Gov. Jim Risch.

According to Risch, this is nothing new. Often winners don't collect.

Every year, somewhere between $1 to $2 million Powerball dollars go unclaimed. It may sound like free and somewhat unexpected money, but Governor Risch says the opposite is true.

"Actually the fact is that it does become expected," he said.

In fact, Risch says the unclaimed money is already figured into the state budget, even before it goes unclaimed, so it's far from a budgetary windfall.

Already this year, $1.6 million has gone unclaimed. Lottery officials say the problem is simple -- players just need to pay closer attention.

"They look and they say, 'oh, somebody else won the jackpot,' and they don't go to check their tickets. So we always encourage the public to go check their tickets," said Workman.

Twenty-five percent of all revenue generated by the lottery goes back to the state -- half of which goes back into the school system.

The state still funds an overwhelming majority of the $1.25 billion it takes to run Idaho schools.

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