Time is running out to claim $250G prize

SOMERVILLE — The odds are stacked against you — 1 in 3.9 million, to be exact — of predicting the five winning numbers (minus the Mega Ball) in the Mega Millions lottery. Someone beat those odds, but has yet the claim the ticket.

On July 27, 2010, a Mega Millions ticket worth $250,000 was purchased at McAleavy’s Newsstand at 10 E. Main St. in Somerville.

The ticket has been unclaimed and, by New Jersey law, the holder of the ticket has until July 27 to claim the prize.

“The holder of this winning ticket should immediately sign the back of the ticket and call lottery headquarters or visit a local Lottery retailer to file their claim before the ticket expires,” New Jersey Lottery Executive Director Carole Hedinger said in a statement.

There were 15 winning tickets worth the $250,000 prize, including three from New Jersey. The other two in-state winners were Silvia Gailliard of Westampton and Pamela Kopp of Hasbrouck Heights. The tickets matched all the numbers but the Mega Ball.

The winning Mega Millions game numbers drawn on July 27, 2010, were: 2, 7, 10, 16 and 29 and the gold Mega Ball number was 8.

An annual average of $38.2 million has gone unclaimed over the past five years. It reached a peak in 2010 with $42.2 million unclaimed.

By law: “Unclaimed prize money for the prize on a winning ticket or share shall be retained by the director for the person entitled thereto for one year after the drawing in which the prize was won. If no claim is made for said money within such year, the prize money shall be allocated to State institutions and State aid for education in the same manner as lottery revenues are allocated for such purposes under this act.”

McAleavy’s Newsstand has been in business since 1989 and participating in the New Jersey Lottery since the state added Mega Millions in 1999.

“We sell to a lot of neighbors around the area and to businesses that start office pools,” said Jesal Amin, the store’s owner. “When the jackpot goes up, we usually sell to a lot more people.”

The holder of the ticket should contact lottery headquarters at 609-599-5875. A claim form can be printed from the website www.state.nj.us/lottery and mailed to P.O. Box 041, Trenton, NJ 08625-0041, Attn: Claims/Validations.

Sources : MyCentralJersey.Com