Who gets the $2 million?

The Virginia Lottery recently ended Redskins Mania, the Redskins scratch ticket offer. The tickets cost $20 apiece. But several weeks after the last ticket was sold, there’s a lot of money that never found its way back to lottery players.

Two of the three million dollar giveaways hailed when the Redskins Mania program was announced haven’t been given away. Three of the six $25,000 prizes also went unclaimed, as did more than 60 percent of the $5,000 and $1,000s winners.

In fact, there was only one prize category in which Virginia Lottery gave away all the prizes it said it was going to give away. That category? Season tickets to Skins games for the next 20 years!

That was called the “top prize” by lottery officials.

Lesser beings would insert a joke here about second prize being season tickets for the next 40 years.

But, according to one of the “top prize” winners, that wouldn’t be a joke: A sad sack going simply by the name of “John” went on a lottery blog a couple months ago to warn folks that winning isn’t everything.

I’m one of the winners of Virginia Lottery’s 20 years of Redskins Season’s tickets, and believe me it took 300 $20 Redskins Lottery ticket entries, to be lucky enough to be selected to be one of the 16 finalists that went to FedEx field. Then from there 7 out of the 16 won the 20 years worth of Redskins tickets at the drawing held at FedEx field. Sometimes it just comes straight down to luck. LOL, of course, the extra taxes for winning 20 years of tickets is going to kill me in the 2010 tax season, so just maybe you can count yourself lucky for not winning the 20 years worth of Raven’s tickets.

In other words, dear John spent more than $6,000, got Redskins season tickets, and still feels screwed.

Sounds like a typical Skins season ticketholder to me!

So, what gives with the lack of giveaways? Why is the lottery holding back so many prizes? Did Skins fans not claim them? Were fans unable to figure out the complicated scratch game rules and let the winnings go to waste? Did fans find Redskins lottery tickets, like actual Redskins tickets, just not worth their price last season? Can we blame this all on Albert Haynesworth?

I’m waiting for answers to these questions from Virginia Lottery officials.

Redskins Scratch Mania statistical roundup available after the jump.

Prize                      Available     Unclaimed