The secret winner of lost New York Lotto $12 million jackpot finally steps into the spotlight after 32 years
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Janet Valenti, a 77-year-old woman from New York, recently revealed an unhappy story about the $12 million Lotto jackpot she nearly won over 30 years ago.
She has now told New York Lottery officials that she was the owner of the largest unclaimed prize in New York's history.
In July 1991, Janet purchased a $1 Lotto ticket at J.N.J. Delicatessen in Graniteville. The ticket had the winning numbers 2, 3, 6, 43, 46, and 52.
The Annadale resident was preparing for a weekend getaway with her two teenagers, Kevin and Jennifer.
TICKET TRASHED
The ticket was accidentally tossed the ticket in the trash, as she mistakenly believed all the tickets on her end table had been checked.
Returning from her trip, a friend excitedly shared the news, "Someone from Staten Island won the $12 million Lotto prize!"
After looking at the newspaper, Janet recognized the numbers as her own, exclaiming, "Those are my numbers.”
She rushed to retrieve her ticket, only to find the trash can empty.
"My next-door neighbor, the whole time I lived there, who has never in her life put my garbage out, did," she lamented.
Desperate, Janet turned to lawyers, explaining her predicament. They told her that the only way to claim the prize was with the physical lottery ticket.
“That was the end of it,” she said.
“Who thought anything of going to the dump at that particular time?”
"There was nothing I could do," Janet recalled, even suggesting that they could check the deli's lottery machine, which would show her consistent set of numbers.
Video footage from the deli proving that she purchased the ticket wouldn't even help, she said.
The answer was always the same.
A year later, on July 17, 1992, the unclaimed $12 million was returned to the state lottery fund. It became the largest unclaimed prize in New York's history.
The weight of the loss was immense for her.
As a single mother and a widow since 1984, she reflected on her husband, Bruno, saying, "Maybe it was [Bruno] looking out for us to not have that kind of money."
To cope, Janet immersed herself in stories of ‘lottery curses’ which she said was a saving grace.
She recalled, "Given that kind of money, things can go bad. You read these stories, a lot of people win lotto, they drop dead."
There doesn’t seem to be any way she could have the jackpot winnings returned, but despite the painful past, Janet's spirit remains unbroken.
The retired New York City Department of Education worker still plays the lottery, but as she chuckles, "The most I ever get is a free play or a couple of dollars."
