A 77-year-old woman from New York has revealed how she coped with losing a staggering $12m lottery prize after binning the winning ticket more than 30 years ago.
Janet Valenti, a single mother raising two teenagers after her husband Bruno died in 1984, bought a $1 ticket at a deli in Graniteville on July 17, 1991. Before a weekend trip to a friend's house, she threw the ticket away, believing she hadn't won.
While away, a friend told her a winning ticket had been sold in Staten Island. Realising she had the winning numbers, she rushed home but could not find the ticket. Her neighbour had put out her rubbish for collection, and the bin was emptied.
Lawyers told her the only way to claim the prize was with the physical ticket. CCTV footage of her purchase was not sufficient. The $12m prize went unclaimed and was returned to the state lottery fund, remaining the largest unclaimed prize in state history at the time.
Despite the loss, Valenti holds no grudges. 'Given that kind of money, things can go bad,' she said. 'That was a saving grace. Who knows what would have happened if I'd had that money? Maybe it was Bruno looking out for us.' She still plays the lottery, joking, 'I would have liked it now!'
