Yes, even if you don´t believe it, it is true. So is the case of the person who will claim a Hot Lotto ticket purchased at a Des Moines convenience store that won the drawing last year on December 29th which will expire at the same date this year.

Whoever the winner is, even if he or she comes up to make the claim the Lottery will be in charge of deducting a complete figure of $2 million because of fallen interest rates. Lottery winning numbers

It looks like time is running out on somebody’s life-changing lottery payday.

Terry Rich, chief operating officer of the Iowa Lottery, said Tuesday the one-month countdown has begun for a Hot Lotto ticket that matched the jackpot numbers in last year’s December 29th drawing and the ticket will expire this December 29th if the prize isn’t claimed by then. And even if it is claimed it will be given minus $2 million. State lottery

“It is sad to see this huge prize continue to sit there without being claimed. Someone legitimately won this money and we want them to take it home,” Rich said in a statement. “It could make a huge difference in someone’s life — or several someones’ lives — just in time for the holidays.”

Rich mentioned that the slow economy has impacted the unclaimed lottery jackpot too. Although the majority of recent winners have chosen a lump-sum payment, he said, recipients also can choose to receive their winnings as annual payments over time.

At the time the big prize was won last December, the estimated annualized jackpot amount was $16.5 million. However, that estimate was based upon the cash on hand from the sale of tickets along with the amount in interest that would be generated over time after the lottery invested the money. While the cash value of the jackpot remains unchanged at $10.75 million, current low interest rates mean that if the winner choses his winnings as yearly installments the annualized jackpot amount would have fallen to an estimated $14.4 million.

Lottery officials have expressed their wish that the winner decides to come forward and that all of the reminders that they have been implementing will have their effect in persuading people to double check their tickets so that the winner will realize that he is a winner and claim it before expiration date.

According to the lottery, there are details about the ticket´s date, time of sale that are not released for security reasons, so that they will have a way to confirm if the winner is legitimate. However the details that are known are the winning Hot Lotto jackpot ticket was purchased at the Quik Trip on Des Moines’ northeast side and that the prize will expire at 4 p.m. December 29th if it isn’t claimed by then.

If the prize expires without being claimed, the money from the jackpot will go back to the 15 lotteries that offer Hot Lotto in proportion to the percentage of sales that came from each state.