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The ticket was sold at the Playland Market on Forest Avenue prior to the Aug. 25, 2012 drawing. The winning numbers were 1-6-7-20-49, with Powerball number 23. The owner of the ticket had a year from the date of the drawing to redeem their ticket for $1 million, which is worth about $662,000 after taxes.
As of Monday, no winner had come forward yet, according to New York Lottery spokesman Lee Park. Because the expiration date fell on a Sunday when the lottery offices are closed, Park said that the lottery would have considered accepting a winning ticket on Monday.
"We're not going to call it unclaimed until later this week," Park said, due to the fact that the winner could have mailed the ticket in.
In the lead-up to the ticket's expiration, the lottery has repeatedly tried to get the winner to come forward. Through press releases, notices on its website and social media, officials have urged players to check their pockets, wash and between the couch cushions in case they may be the winner.
"This prize could really help to make dreams become a reality for a lucky New York Lottery player," said Gardner Gurney, acting director of the Division of the Lottery, in a statement last week.
If the money is not claimed, it will be returned to the lottery pool to subsidize jackpots, promotions or special one-time games. Last year there were $65 million in unclaimed money, about 1.5 percent of the $4.2 billion in prize money. The largest New York lottery ticket to go unclaimed was a $68 million ticket in 2002.
Workers at Playland Market declined to comment on the unclaimed ticket. Several signs posted on the doors of the store reminded shoppers that the ticket was sold there and would expire Sunday.
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