Woman Claims $8.8M Lottery Win After Nine Months

Thursday, August 21, 2008 posted 01:46 PM EDT

ROCKY HILL, Conn. -- After nine months, the mystery of who held the winning $8.8 million lottery ticket is solved.

After doing some research and talking to estate planners, Lynn Hagerbrant of Greenwich came forward Monday to accept her prize.

Hagerbrant bought the winning Classic Lotto as a quick pick at Greenwich Exxon on Putnam Avenue. She won on Nov. 23, 2007 and presented the ticket to Connecticut lottery officials late on Monday.

Aware that she had the single winning ticket, Hagerbrant decided to delay filing a claim for her prize and spoke with professional estate planning and legal advisors, working toward adding security for her family, lottery officials said.

Once Hagerbrant felt she had a long-term plan, it was time to claim her winnings, lottery officials said.

"I believe in Lottery as a way to provide support to worthwhile initiatives such as education in the communities,” Hagerbrant said.

Hagerbrant decided to take the one-time cash lump sum value of $5,430,424, She received a check for $3,801,297, the prize value after taxes were deducted, lottery officials said.

The chances of winning a prize in Classic Lotto are 1 in 39.3, lottery officials said. The chance of winning the jackpot is 1 in approximately 7.1 million.

Lottery officials said a dozen other jackpots have gone unclaimed during the game's 25-year history.

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