Another hot question is whether or not people actually claim the prizes that they win.
You would think that if you won the lottery you would automatically come in and get your money, but that’s not the case more often than you would think. A large portion of lottery tickets are sold to people who routinely play the lottery but the majority, especially during large jackpots, go to casual players who sometimes forget about the ticket.
A ton of smaller prizes go unclaimed every year, a fact that the lottery boards are not exactly itching to advertise. All they need is one smiling, semi-normal looking person holding a big check every year and they have their marketing quota. They could care less if anyone else actually comes in and claims a prize.
The people that do come in and win the big prizes are a strange lot. Granted, most of winning comes down to pure luck so the cross section of humanity that finds a winning ticket and comes down to claim their money is supposedly random.
They come in all shapes and sizes, large and small, in mumu’s and suits. Their reactions are even more varied.
I’ve seen people lose their minds, start screaming, and generally carry on when they finally see the check, and I’ve seen people accept it stone faced, no emotion showing through. One guy started to do a complicated and rather dangerous dance routine that would have given Michael Jackson a run for his money.