Unclaimed year later, $19 million lottery prize expires

An unclaimed $19 million jackpot from the New Jersey Pick 6 Lotto drawing expired at the end of the day Tuesday, with no one stepping forward to lay claim to the fortune.

The holder of the winning ticket, purchased at a convenience store in Newark on April 24, 2006, had one year to claim the prize. While that person lost out, the state ends up the winner. The prize money goes back to fund education programs and homes for the disabled.

Unclaimed prizes are not uncommon, including one in Indiana that topped $50 million. Lottery officials figure people lose their tickets or forget they played the day of a winning drawing.

In 1996, a Connecticut man realized he had won days after his jackpot expired, then spent the next several years unsuccessfully lobbying the state legislature to change the lottery rules and give him his money. - Troy Graham