This was because the mandatory 90 days have passed since the jackpot was drawn and no one had come forward with the winning ticket to claim the prize, Operations Manager of the Lottery Company, Ms. Tracey Lewis told a news conference.

She said the lottery's policy governing the presentation of winning tickets by players for payments allows them 90 days from the date of the draw to redeem the ticket.

Failure to do so would make that ticket an "expired ticket" and thereafter "invalid", Lewis told reporters at GLC headquarters, Lamaha Street, Georgetown.

She noted that the $45M jackpot ticket, which was sold on December 22, 2002 at the Success, East Coast Demerara gas station, expired last Friday (March 21, 2003).

"We wish to state that it is in our interest that we fulfill our obligations of honouring all winning tickets and steps were taken to properly inform the public that there was a winner of the jackpot on December 22, 2002," Lewis said.

"In addition, there were newspaper advertisements and I personally made appeals via a few of the (television) newscasts, for players to check their tickets, especially those players who would have bought their tickets from our agent in Success, i.e., Success Gas Station Agent No. 328," she said.

In this regard, she pointed out that although someone won the $45M Lotto jackpot, no one had come forward and presented the ticket.

Lewis explained that the contract with the Government indicates that where such a situation arises, "Any amounts of unclaimed prizes will be used by CBN (Canadian Bank Note) for special promotion of the games, such as additional prizes awarded for separate seasonal draws."

In view of this, she said the GLC has decided that if the current jackpot (which stands at $30M) is not won tonight, then $20M out of the unclaimed $45M would be added to the existing jackpot which would then be $31M plus the $20M, giving a jackpot of $51M.

In the event that tonight's $30M jackpot is won, then $20M would be added to tomorrow's $4M starting jackpot, making it a $24M starting jackpot.

She said, too, that when this jackpot is won, the next starting jackpot would again be $4M plus a bonus $20M, giving a $24M jackpot.