LOS ANGELES — A SuperLotto Plus ticket went from a $63 million prize to a worthless scrap of paper after the person who bought it failed to show up by a deadline.

The winner of the multimillion-dollar ticket had 180 days from the drawing on Aug. 8 to claim the prize. California Lottery had even put out a public call, warning the winner to claim his or her prize money before 5 p.m. Thursday.

But despite all the hype, lottery officials said the would-be winner never came forward. That didn’t mean the end of someone’s $63 million deal came without some controversy.

Brandy Milliner, a Los Angeles County resident, filed legal documents Wednesday morning claiming he had turned in the winning ticket to the California State Lottery Commission within the claim period. He said the commission even sent him a letter congratulating him for the winning ticket, saying he would receive a check in six to eight weeks.

Milliner said the commission later reneged on his payment. Lottery officials said they routinely send congratulatory letters to people who claim to be winners before the ticket is confirmed.

According to the L.A. County lawsuit, the commission sent a second notice in January, saying the ticket was “too damaged to be reconstructed” and his claim could not be processed. Milliner is now asking a judge to declare him the winner.

The winning, unclaimed ticket was purchased at a corner 7-Eleven in the San Fernando Valley — the type of place that brings a steady stream of lotto buyers who returned in large numbers on Thursday to check their tickets.

Gary Garcia, a retired demolition laborer, said the store is one of several he uses to buy $5 of tickets in the morning and $5 in the evening each day.

“To be honest with you, a gambler never gets ahead,” he said. “I just do it to pass the time.”

Garcia said he knew his tickets would not be the big winner because he believed that Milliner’s mangled ticket was legitimate.

“You know, I would do it the same way: wait until the last minute once a plan is in place on how to use the money and how to deal with all the people who want a piece of it,” he said.

With the winner essentially forfeiting the prize, the $63 million jackpot is now the largest unclaimed SuperLotto Plus ticket in the state’s history.

The unclaimed money will go toward funding schools in the next quarter.