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CNN Live At Daybreak

Winning Lottery Ticket Delayed in Mail

Aired June 15, 2001 - 07:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR: For months, a $46 million lottery jackpot went unclaimed, if you can believe it. The deadline to receive the winnings passed last week, and still no one came forward with that winning ticket.

Well, this story does have a happy ending, and we want to get it right now from Anthony Johnson of CNN affiliate WABC-TV. He's in Montvale, New Jersey.

Hello there, Anthony. Fill us in.

ANTHONY JOHNSON, WABC REPORTER: And good morning to you, Linda.

It is an unbelievable story, but this "New York Times" headline pretty much says it all: "Ticket Worth $46 Million Was in the Mail. Honest." And that's exactly what happened. Apparently, some winner, we'll find out a little bit later on today, had a stack of lottery tickets, and they took it to a lottery agent. And when they took it to that lottery agent, I guess they put it through a machine. The machine found that there was a winning ticket in there, and they put the ticket in the mail to send it to lottery officials here in the state of New Jersey.

Now, three days after the deadline -- the deadline to turn in that ticket was actually last Saturday -- but three days after the deadline they received an envelope in the mail. Somebody in the office opened it and, voila, what did they find: The winning lottery ticket was in there.

And as this says right here: "For every dream there is a jackpot." Somebody's dream apparently is going to be coming true. We should find out a little bit later on, when the acting governor here in the state of New Jersey makes the announcement that somebody -- that winner who won the $46 million. We'll have to ask the question though, why did they send a $46 million, big game winning lottery ticket through the U.S. mail? Unbelievable.

And you know what? I've got to tell you, I bought my own lottery ticket -- you know, when you have luck in one store you figure maybe somebody else will win something? This is the Fathers' Day lottery coming up, the big game for $25 million. So, you know, if you guys don't see me anymore, I've disappeared, I'm on my yacht somewhere in the Bahamas. STOUFFER: Oh, well, enjoy your wonderful vacation. Anthony Johnson, thank you very much. Best of luck to you. And if you do win, send it certified mail, please, or perhaps FedEx.

JOHNSON: Yes, that's a good idea. Great idea; Thank you.

STOUFFER: OK.

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