Florida Woman's Prize Forfeited After Postal Service Loses Winning Ticket

A Florida woman is losing hope in her chances of claiming her winnings after the U.S. Postal Service lost her winning lottery ticket, according to Lottery Post on Wednesday (September 30).

Sue Burgess won $1,000 in the Florida Lottery's Second Chance Lottery on July 29. Weeks after sending it through USPS certified mail, the Florida Lottery said her prize was forfeited and given to someone else.

Lottery officials said Second Chance winners only have a week to submit their ticket.

Burgess claimed she sent the ticket by the postmark deadline. The dismayed woman later found out that the USPS lost the package containing the ticket.

Tracking information revealed that the package stopped at a Tallahassee post office but never made it to the lottery headquarters.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, claims offices have closed or limited in-person visits. Lotteries have been encouraging winners to mail their winning tickets rather than dropping by the offices.

The Lottery told Burgess to either send the ticket in the mail or hand-deliver it to their Tallahassee headquarters. She said all the claim centers were closed the day she won.

Even though the USPS took responsibility for the lost package, they did not indicate if they were willing to compensate Burgess. Postal officials said they are investigating the package's "disappearance."

"The Postal Service strives to always provide the best possible service to our customers," USPS said in the statement. "We apologize to this specific customer for any inconvenience they may have experienced. In this specific instance, we are continuing to work with the lottery office to confirm receipt of the mailpiece."

Lottery Post claims it's unlikely Burgess' ticket will be found since it's been six weeks since it allegedly arrived at the Tallahassee post office.

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