Unclaimed Winning Tickets Were Sold in Montgomery and Clearfield Counties

MIDDLETOWN, Pa., July 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two Pennsylvania Lottery winning tickets - a Quinto mid-day ticket worth $50,000 from the July 24, 2009, drawing and a Powerball ticket worth $200,000 from the July 25, 2009, drawing have yet to be presented for payment.

The tickets and prizes will expire one year from the dates of the drawings, but in-person claims should be presented to the Lottery by Friday, July 23.

"We encourage players who purchased Powerball and Quinto mid-day tickets last July to check shirts and pants pockets, shoe boxes, bags, envelopes and any other hiding places for old tickets because we'd hate to see these prizes go unclaimed," Lottery Executive Director Ed Trees said.

The soon-to-expire Quinto mid-day ticket matched all five numbers in the order they were drawn, 6-2-3-6-7, for a $50,000 top prize, less 25 percent federal withholding. It was sold at Mt. View Market Place, 111 Rolling Stone Rd., Kylertown, Clearfield County.

The soon-to-expire Powerball ticket correctly matched all five white balls drawn, 05-17-33-46-52, but not the red Powerball, 09, for a $200,000 second-tier prize, less 25 percent federal withholding. It was sold at 7-Eleven, 623 Welsh Rd., Maple Glen, Montgomery County.

The Pennsylvania Lottery encourages the holders of the winning tickets to sign the back of the tickets, call the Lottery at 717-702-8146 and file claims within the next two weeks at Lottery headquarters in Middletown, Dauphin County, or at any of Lottery's seven area offices. Claims may be filed at headquarters Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., and from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at area Lottery offices.

Because the prizes expire over the weekend, the last chance to file a claim in person will be Friday, July 23, at 4 p.m. at Lottery headquarters or 4:30 p.m. at an area Lottery office. For a claim received through the mail, it must be postmarked by Saturday, July 24.

Unclaimed, expired lottery prizes remain in the Lottery Fund and are used to support programs benefiting older Pennsylvanians.

How to Play Quinto: To play Quinto, players pay $1 and select a five-digit number from 0 through 9, and the same number can be selected more than once within the same game. Players may select their own numbers using a Quinto play slip, or they may opt for computer-selected quick picks. Players must match the five numbers drawn in the exact order drawn to win the jackpot. There also are 12 additional ways to win a cash prize.

How to Play Powerball: To play Powerball, players pay $1 and select five white balls from the first set of 59 numbers plus a single red ball, the Powerball, from a second set of 39 numbers. Players may select their own numbers using a Powerball play slip, or they may opt for computer-selected quick picks. Players must match all five numbers drawn plus the Powerball number to win the jackpot. There also are eight additional ways for players to win a cash prize. Drawings are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Powerball features an option called Power Play. For an extra $1 per Powerball play (game), players can multiply their Powerball prizes by 2, 3, 4, or 5 times the original prize amount for all prizes EXCEPT the jackpot. Prizes can multiply up to $1 million.

About the Pennsylvania Lottery: The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state lottery that designates all its proceeds to programs that benefit older residents. Since its inception 38 years ago, the Pennsylvania Lottery has contributed more than $19.2 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free and reduced-fare transit; the low-cost prescription drug programs PACE and PACENET; long-term living services; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including more than 600 full- and part-time senior centers throughout the state. The Pennsylvania Lottery reminds its players to play responsibly. Players must be 18 or older.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Lottery, visit www.palottery.com.

Media contact: Veronica Sinclair-Anderson, 717-702-8008

SOURCE Pennsylvania Lottery