Unclaimed N.J. lottery means that state wins

The unclaimed $19 million jackpot from the New Jersey Pick 6 Lotto drawing expired at midnight, 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. Although 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 that people lose their tickets or forget that they played the day of a winning drawing.

In 1996, a Connecticut man realized that 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.