Lottery officials urge to check tickets as $25,000 a year prize remains unclaimed – and it was bought at a grocery store

SOMEONE in Connecticut won a lifetime of payments in the state lottery but has yet to collect their prize.

The Lucky for Life lottery prize of $25,000 a year came from the April 19 drawing.

They bought their ticket at the Stop & Shop grocery store in New Milford, which is about an hour from New Haven.

The player matched all five numbers, 5, 8, 24, 28, and 34, but missed the Lucky Ball, which was 5.

The anonymous winner has until October to claim the cash, according to the state's lottery.

They can receive annual payments of $25,000 a year for the rest of their life or a lump sum of $390,000.

The top prize in Lucky for Life is $365,000 a year for life, and the $25,000 amount is the second place prize.

There are two other unclaimed tickets in Connecticut worth $100,000 a piece.

The prizes came from the Cash5 game and were drawn on April 21 and April 25.

The earlier ticket was sold at a Country Farms location, and the other was sold at the Burnside Smoke Shop and Conven in East Hartford.

The winners also have until October to claim the cash.

In Connecticut, all draw game prizes expire and must be claimed within 180 calendar days from the draw date.

LOTTO LUCK

Meanwhile, a lottery player in South Carolina had a gut feeling he should play the lottery and ended up winning $200,000.

“It was like an out-of-body experience,” the man told local NBC affiliate WYFF.

He doesn't usually pick up a scratch-off ticket, but he was inspired to do so after the customer in front of him did.

"I wouldn’t have bought it if the customer in front of me hadn’t,” he revealed.

He said he would use the money to start a business.

Then, in Missouri, a player was satisfied thinking she won $100 but had actually scored $50,000.

“It was shocking,” she admitted to the Missouri Lottery.

“I guess it is a little bit life-changing.”

Top lottery winners in the US

Millions dream of winning the lottery and finding fame and fortune. These are the biggest winners in US lottery history.

• Edwin Castro - $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022, in California.
• Theodorus Struyck - $1.765 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, in California.
• Unknown winner - $1.602 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, in Florida.
• Marvin and Mae Acosta from Los Angeles, California, John and Lisa Robinson from Munford, Tennessee, and Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt from Melbourne Beach, Florida - $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016.
• Unknown winner - $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, from South Carolina.
• Unknown winner - he sued the mother of his child to keep his identity hidden - $1.348 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, from Maine.
• Unknown winner - $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, from Illinois.
• Unknown winner - $1.326 billion, Powerball, April 7, 2024, from Oregon.
• Yanira Alvarez - $1.08 billion Powerball, July 19, 2023 in California.
• Wolverine FLL Lottery Club - $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, from Michigan.
• Unknown winner - $842.4 million Powerball, Jan. 1, 2024, from Michigan.

A player in Maryland won $50 on her first lottery ticket and decided to test her luck.

She immediately spent the winnings on three more tickets, and two of them were unlucky.

But the third scratch-off paid off, awarding her $50,000.

When she scanned the ticket, a message appeared and told her to go to the lottery office to collect her winnings.

“I knew right away it was a $50,000 win because the next prize down, I could cash right in the store,” she said.

If you or someone you know has signs of gambling addiction, call the National Gambling Hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visit the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

The U.S. Sun previously reported on the Theodorus Struyck, the winner of a historic $1.7 billion lottery prize.

Another lottery winner instantly lost $87,000 from their prize due to a key choice.