When no one came forward last summer...

When no one came forward last summer to collect a $4.7-million Lotto prize announced June 15, the Hawthorne businessman who sold the lucky ticket tried to do the right thing. He even scoured the videotapes from the store’s security camera.

But for some unknown reason, Blue Bird Liquor’s camera was not working at the time that lottery officials say the ticket was purchased.

The store’s owner, Frank Kumamoto, said he sells thousands of lottery tickets and other than turning to the tapes has no way of remembering who the winner might have been. The lucky numbers were 1 10 17 20 32 40.

Well, this week, the issue became moot when the winner did not meet Monday’s deadline for claiming the money. The $4.7 million will go to the state education fund in annual installments over a 20-year period, according to lottery spokeswoman Susan Kossack. It is the largest unclaimed prize since the lottery began in 1985, she said.

There’s better news for Kumamoto, who is still entitled to a $23,500 commission, 1/2 of 1% of the prize money.

“I got $2, my wife got the rest,” joked Kumamoto, a Westchester resident who has owned the Hawthorne Boulevard store for 11 years. He received his commission soon after the winning number was drawn in June.

As for Kumamoto, he knows what he is going to do with the commission: With one son at UC Irvine and another at Cornell University School of Law, the money will come in handy for books and tuition, he said.