$12 Million New York Lottery Jackpot Winner Revealed After 32 Years

The person who won the $12 million New York State Lottery jackpot in 1991 has finally been revealed. A 77-year-old woman has come forward as the rightful owner of the winning ticket.

The $12 million jackpot went unclaimed for more than 30 years. Janet Valenti says she is the person who had the winning ticket in July of 1991, according to PhillyBurbs. She says that the winning ticket was sitting among other tickets that were winners. She claims to have mistakenly thrown the winning ticket in the trash, thinking she had checked all her tickets. A friend told her the winning ticket was sold in Staten Island and once she saw the winning numbers (2, 3, 6, 43, and 51), Valenti said she knew she had the winning ticket. She said she searched through her trash bin, but her neighbor had put her trash bin out for collection. By the time she got back home from visiting a friend, the trash was gone. She said she even tried to contact lawyers, but there was nothing she or anyone could do without the physical ticket. Valenti told the Staten Island Advance,

I was a wreck. I was sick for a long time over it.

The $12 is the largest unclaimed prize in New York State history. She said she helped herself get over the massive loss by reading about lottery curses.

The Top 5 Biggest Lottery Jackpots Ever Won In New York State

While Valenti missed out on her money, a few lucky New Yorkers didn't. These are the winners of the largest lottery jackpots in the state.

5. $208 million

Credit: longislandpress via Youtube

Daniel Bruckner, who is actually from California, won the Mega Millions jackpot on December 27, 2011. He was visiting his wife's family in Long Island when he purchased his winning ticket.

4. $319 million

Seven co-workers in Albany won the Mega Millions jackpot on March 25, 2011

3. $326 million

Harold Diamond, an 80-year-old retired school principal won the huge Mega Millions jackpot on November 4, 2014.

2. $432 million

Goodtimez, LLC won a massive amount on September 21, 2021, by playing the Mega Millions.

1. $476 Million Dollars

A 71-year-old man named Johnnie Taylor, from Howard Beach won the $476 million Mega Millions jackpot on April 14, 2023.

Winning such huge jackpots most certainly changed all of the winners' lives.

If you're hoping to get lucky and win the lotto, you might want to play one of these games.