Lottery News

Getting your winning ticket lost in the mail! - A lottery winner’s worst nightmare, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic! Wistfully, this is what actually happened to a Florida woman whose mail containing a ticket worth $1,000 was misplaced by the U.S. Postal Service. The worse part? Her lottery winnings were forcefully forfeited by the Florida Lottery and were awarded to someone else.

As the lottery claim centers are closed or are allowing limited in-person claims, keeping in view the pandemic situation, the lotteries have been encouraging players to opt for the mail-in option for claiming their lottery winnings and trust the process. But this whole process didn’t work out well for Sue Burgess, who got caught in this unfortunate circumstance, which lottery players fear.

Sue Burgess, the Florida Lottery winner, hailing from Hernando County, exclaimed that she was exhilarated on discovering earlier this summer that she had bagged $1,000, in the Second Chance drawing by the Florida Lottery. But her excitement and hope soon came dashing down because at that time she couldn’t claim her winnings at any of the local lottery stores, since they were shut due to the pandemic. So, she followed the state lottery’s instructions and visited the post office to send in her ticket via mail. However, according to Burgess, the winning ticket never reached the Lottery’s office in the one-week time frame allotted to claim the prize. According to the tracking information, the ticket last showed up in the Tallahassee post office, which she reported to the Florida Lottery. But the lottery officials clearly stated, “No ticket, no prize”, and moreover, her prize was awarded to the alternative winner, thus leaving her shattered.

Burgess said, to avoid all such hassles, she opted for certified mail rather than leaving her winning ticket in a dropbox at a local lottery office, for a more safer and effective option.

It has been six weeks since then and her winning ticket is still left accounted for! The USPS sincerely apologized to Burgess and said they are working out with the state lottery to help her cash out the lottery winning. Florida Lottery however stated that they are not responsible for any mistakes made by the US Postal Service, though they will make an exception for Burgess and will pay off her prize if the package shows up before the deadline of just - seven days. But the Lottery did not receive Ms. Burgess’s winning ticket within the stipulated time of seven days, however, the stamp’s date was prior to the original expiration date.

The USPS and the Florida Lottery are investigating into the matter, and hopefully, Ms. Burgess may get her lottery winning paid soon!