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Clock ticking to claim $63 million California Lottery jackpot — but one man is suing, saying he won
File: A customer picks up her California Powerball lottery tickets at the famous Bluebird Liquor store, which is considered to be a lucky retailer of tickets, in Hawthorne on Jan. 13, 2016. Record sales drove up the largest jackpot in U.S. history to a whopping $1.5 billion as people dreaming of riches flocked across state lines and international borders to buy tickets.
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Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
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Time is running out for the winner of a $63 million Super Lotto jackpot to claim their winnings.
Meanwhile, a man is suing the California Lottery. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday and states that Brandy Milliner claims he had the winning ticket for the unclaimed jackpot.
It alleges that when he turned it in, he received a congratulatory letter from the California Lottery saying his check would be mailed soon. He allegedly received a subsequent letter saying his ticket was "too damaged to be reconstructed."
Lotto officials are not commenting on the lawsuit and say they're still looking for the winner.
The winning ticket was purchased in Chatsworth in August. The deadline to claim the prize is 5 p.m. on Thursday. For Super Lotto Plus, there's a 180-day window to claim the prize, according to the California Lottery.
Lottery spokesman Alex Traverso says unclaimed prize money goes directly to California public schools.
"Tickets go unclaimed every day," Traverso said. "Smaller denominations — $2, $10, $100, it adds up. Every year in California there's probably around $25 million that go unclaimed."
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Traverso says the largest jackpot that has ever gone unclaimed in California was for $28 million in 2003. He also said that the retailer who sold the winning ticket will still benefit, receiving a $315,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket — despite the fact that no winner has come forward and been verified.
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