Patience is a virtue. It's obviously a virtue that a good number of us struggle with every day. Otherwise, you wouldn't hear so many horns honking in traffic when people are slow to start moving when the light turns green. But if you really want to see impatience at its best or, I guess it would be at its worst, just involve money. The more money you involve the less amount of patience people will seem to have.

Dylan Nolte via Unsplash.com
Dylan Nolte via Unsplash.com
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I would have to say that the single exception that I can think of to this particular rule of thumb is happening now in Louisiana. That's because there are two outstanding Powerball lottery tickets that were sold in the state that still have yet to be claimed. One of those tickets is set to expire on March 7th. The other is set to expire on March 31st. In both cases, the ticket holder would be forfeiting a Powerball lottery prize of $50,000.

While you wouldn't think it would be common but lottery prizes, even big cash lottery prizes expire all the time. In the case of the Louisiana Lottery, they have a plan in place. The rules state that all winning tickets must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing. Once that redemption period has passed the money is transferred to the Lottery's unclaimed prize fund.

The money in the unclaimed prize fund eventually makes its way back into the hands of the Lottery's players. This is done through increased payouts on scratch-off tickets, second-chance drawings or other player promotions outlined by the Lottery.

Powerball Lottery Reaches Third Highest Jackpot
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Based on records from Powerball and Mega Millions since 2003 there have been 384 jackpot winners. That's the big money, by the way. Of those 384 winners, only five of those jackpots have gone unclaimed. So it does happen, it doesn't happen often. But some people just can't handle the pressure of being insanely rich, I guess.

One of the biggest reasons that big money jackpots don't get claimed has to do with taxes. The other is that people simply don't remember buying the ticket or they forgot where they put the ticket.

If I were you if I played the Powerball Game in early September and early October of last year, I'd be checking my jacket pockets, my glove compartment in the car, and I'd even check those papers you have clipped to the visor of your car.

Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash.com
Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash.com
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The winning Powerball ticket that is set to expire next Monday comes from the September 8th Powerball drawing. The ticket in this case was sold at Nelson Point on Nelson Road in Lake Charles. Remember, you only have until the close of business on Monday to contact your local Louisiana Lottery office to arrange to get your prize winnings.

The second $50,000 prize-winning Powerball ticket sold in the state is set to expire on the last day of March, the 31st. That ticket was sold at a Circle K in Slidell for the October 2nd drawing from last year.

Emil Kalibradov via Unsplash.com
Emil Kalibradov via Unsplash.com
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And if you didn't purchase either of these tickets, you can still play games if you want. Tonight's Powerball Jackpot is an estimated $73 million. On Friday, the Mega Millions jackpot will be an estimated $113 million. Good luck and if you choose to play, please play responsibly.

Maybe you could use your newfound windfall to take a trip to someplace you've never been before. We have some suggestions.

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