$46 million lottery jackpot goes unclaimed by deadline

TRENTON, New Jersey (CNN) -- The deadline for claiming a $46 million Big Game lottery jackpot came and went Saturday with no one stepping forward to take the prize.

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The winning ticket for the June 9, 2000, drawing had to be claimed by midnight Saturday under lottery rules. The money will be returned to the seven state lotteries that participate in the Big Game -- New Jersey, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia.

A ticket with the winning numbers was sold at a convenience store in Montvale, New Jersey. The numbers were 6-7-25-34-45 and 2 on the Big Game ball.

Whoever bought the ticket had opted for a one-time, lump sum pay-out of the jackpot, which reduced the prize to $23.7 million.