$973,000 Lottery Prize Goes Unclaimed

A year-old Pennsylvania lottery ticket valued at $973,000 became worthless Monday after its owner failed to cash it in.

Although lottery officials had appealed for the winner to step forward, no one tried to cash the ticket by the deadline at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

The ticket was sold for the Dec. 30, 1983, lotto drawing, which had a $4.9-million jackpot. Four other tickets with the winning numbers 9, 15, 19, 22, 25 and 26 were sold and cashed.

The largest unclaimed prize in lottery history was $1.2 million, from an April 22, 1983, drawing, a spokesman said.

The money set aside for the prize will be placed in the lottery fund, which pays for state programs that assist senior citizens.