No lotto ticket? No problem

A pair of Democratic state lawmakers from Queens have devised a safeguard against a potential nightmare situation: You purchase a winning lottery ticket and then you lose it before redeeming your millions.

Sen. James Sanders and Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman introduced legislation that lets lottery winners, who have lost their winning ticket, redeem their prize if they submit “documentary proof of purchase of such winning ticket” within five years of the lottery drawing.

The measure stems from a 2003 incident, where a Queens resident purportedly lost their winning ticket for a $3 million prize, according to the bill memorandum.

The legislation is waiting in the racing and wagering committees in both houses of the Legislature.