Unclaimed prize has winner after all

February 20, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Eric White didn’t realize he’d left $2.5 million sitting on the desk in the office in his Indianapolis home for six months.

On Friday, he and his wife, Lori, cashed in, beating the odds by turning in the winning Hoosier Lotto ticket from the Aug. 19 drawing a week after the lottery officials said the prize wouldn’t be awarded because the 180-day deadline had passed. Officials extended the deadline to Feb. 22 after saying the date had been miscalculated.

Lori White, 38, said she sent her husband a text Tuesday night asking if he had any old lottery tickets after she saw a story about the unclaimed fortune on television. But it took another two days before he got around to looking. He found the winning ticket along with others Thursday night in his home office.

“They were in a pile of books on the desk,” said 39-year-old Eric White.

“I have no idea how they did not get thrown away,” said Lori.

She said she tried calling the lottery office during the night, but it was closed. Friday morning, the couple consulted a financial adviser and went to the lottery’s downtown office to verify they had the winning ticket, bearing numbers 4-5-17-30-38-43.

Hoosier Lottery spokeswoman Lucia Anderson said no Indiana winner has ever stepped forward so late to claim a large prize.

The couple received a check for about $697,000 after taxes after choosing the cash option, Anderson said.

The Whites said their first priority for the money is to pay for college for their two children, age 3 and 6, and donate to their church. Beyond that, they said they’d have to think it over.