Unclaimed Lottery Prizes on Time The story of the $100,000 forgotten in a car
Among the millions of dollars in unclaimed lottery prizes each year, some stories stand out for their sheer drama. This is the case of an Iowa couple who lost a $100,000 Powerball prize after finding the winning ticket too late in their car.
When the deadline becomes your enemy
Des Moines, Iowa. An Iowa couple missed out on a $100,000 Powerball prize after discovering the winning ticket too late inside their car. What could have been a much-needed financial relief for their family turned into a hard lesson on the consequences of unclaimed lottery prizes.
Bradly Hanawalt, a war veteran, and his wife Carla bought the ticket for the November 27, 2019 drawing. The ticket matched four numbers plus the Power Play, doubling the prize from $50,000 to $100,000. However, they didn’t find it until February 2021—three months after the deadline to claim it had passed.
A discovery that came too late
Bradly Hanawalt of Des Moines, who had returned from a mission in Afghanistan in a wheelchair, never imagined luck was on his side. While cleaning his wife’s car, he stumbled upon a lone Powerball ticket worth $100,000 and instantly thought his fortune had changed.
But that feeling of good fortune vanished as quickly as it came when they realized the deadline to cash the ticket had expired months earlier—making it just another case of unclaimed lottery prizes.
“My heart just sank,” Bradly told KCCI. “The chance to have $100,000 was incredible.”
Painful details that make the story even harder
Bradly’s wife, Carla, purchased the winning ticket at the QuikTrip store on Fleur Drive in Des Moines for the November 27, 2019 drawing. The ticket matched four white balls, winning a $50,000 prize, but she had added the Power Play option, doubling her winnings to $100,000.
The winning numbers were 15, 26, 37, 53, 55 and Powerball 21. The Power Play number was 2.
The denied extension request
Bradly and Carla had until 4:00 pm on November 30, 2020, to claim the prize at one of the Iowa Lottery offices, but they did not attempt to cash the ticket until February 8, 2021, thus adding to the list of lottery prizes unclaimed on time.
“It doesn’t hurt because I didn’t have that money before, but it still hurts because I could have had it,” Bradly explained in an interview. “I have six daughters, and it would have been really helpful to pay bills and everything else.”
The pandemic as an aggravating factor
The unfortunate winner also mentioned that Carla had been sick with COVID-19 in November, and they requested an extension of the deadline from the Lottery because of it. Although sympathetic to the couple’s unfortunate situation, the Lottery stated they could not grant extensions to players, since they had been fully operational during the pandemic.
“We feel a lot of empathy for these people, but Iowa law, Powerball rules, and our administrative rules are very clear that once a prize expires, it cannot be claimed,” said Mary Neubauer, Vice President of External Relations for the Lottery.
A warning that came too late
A week before the ticket expired, the Lottery issued a press release urging players in Des Moines to check their tickets. It was an effort to reduce the number of lottery prizes unclaimed on time which, unfortunately, did not reach the Hanawalt family.
This story is not unique; every year, billions of dollars in lottery prizes go unclaimed simply because winners don’t check their tickets or miss the deadline.
The Magnitude of the Problem of Unclaimed Lottery Prizes Due to Missed Deadlines
The Hanawalt family’s case is just one among thousands. Industry reports reveal:
- In the United States, more than $2 billion in lottery prizes go unclaimed annually.
- 97% are minor prizes, but the remaining 3% represent millions in major prizes.
- In Spain, nearly €50 million in lottery prizes go unclaimed on time every year.
- In Colombia, millions of pesos in Baloto prizes remain unclaimed.
How to prevent lottery prizes from going unclaimed
This unfortunate story reminds us of the importance of checking our lottery numbers regularly and keeping tickets in a safe place. At LottoAlert, we understand how easy it is to forget to check a ticket or to miss the deadline to claim a prize.
That’s why we developed our automatic verification system that notifies you when your numbers win. With our lottery checker, you’ll never again lose the chance to claim a prize, big or small.
Effective solutions to prevent expired lottery prizes
With LottoAlert, you can:
- Register your tickets digitally
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- Get reminders before the claim deadline expires
- Keep an organized history of all your plays
Stories like Bradly and Carla’s won’t have to repeat themselves. No prize should ever become just another statistic of unclaimed lottery winnings.
Don’t leave your luck to chance
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Source:
lotterypost.com – “Iowa couple misses deadline to cash $100,000 Powerball ticket”
