Lots of Claims But No Tickets: Deadline Passes on Historic Lottery Jackpot

Lots of claims, no luck.

Several people claimed the winning $63 million SuperLotto Plus jackpot Thursday as the 5 p.m. deadline to collect came and went. But they all have an uphill battle. None of them actually possessed the winning ticket, said California Lottery spokesman Alex Traverso.

“It’s been a little chaotic so far,” Traverso said Thursday afternoon as the deadline drew near. “This is sort of unprecedented.”

California has never had a deadline come and go for a jackpot so large without a clear winner come forward. Publicity about the pending deadline may have prompted people to come out of the woodworks to lay claim to the money.

“We have had some people come in saying their ticket was lost, and they are coming in and claiming without a ticket,” said Traverso. “We are just going through the process, and we’ll evaluate the claim after the deadline.”

Typically, the verification process takes a few days, but with five to 10 claims on the same winning ticket, it will take longer, added Traverso.

A man who says he purchased the winning ticket but had it rejected by the California Lottery filed a lawsuit Wednesday, alleging he is being wrongfully denied the jackpot.

Brandy Milliner claims he purchased the winning ticket on Aug. 8, and after the draw, lottery officials confirmed that only one winning ticket had been sold -- in Los Angeles County.

Lottery officials said the winning ticket was purchased in Chatsworth for the Aug. 8, 2015, drawing and has all of the winning numbers: 46, 1, 33, 30, 16 and Mega number 24.

Milliner claims he presented the ticket to the Lottery Commission within the claim period and was given a form congratulating him on his winnings and explaining that he would receive a check in six to eight weeks from the state Controller’s Office, the suit states.

However, in January, Milliner received a letter from the commission stating that after a review of his ticket, the agency determined it to be “too damaged to be reconstructed,” the suit states.

The letter cited a section of the California Lottery Act that explained the commission was unable to process Milliner’s claim, the suit states.

Milliner alleges the commission has “interfered” with his prize by withholding the ticket, refusing to return it and refusing to award him the grand prize.

The previous largest jackpot that has ever gone unclaimed was $28.5 million for a SuperLotto Plus ticket sold in Alameda County in 2003.

City News Service contributed to this report.