A Huge $1.34B Mega Millions Jackpot Hasn't Been Claimed & The Winning Ticket Is Out There
There's a golden lottery ticket floating around somewhere that will turn someone into a billionaire overnight — and we still don't know who that person is.
It's been one month since the Mega Millions lottery drew a winner for the second-largest jackpot in its history but lottery officials say that no one has come forward yet to claim their $1.34-billion prize.
Officials know the ticket was sold at a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, Illinois, but the ticket-holder still hasn't reached out to contact them.
“We don’t know whether or not they even know that they won a prize,” Harold Mays, director of the Illinois Department of Lottery, told CNBC a few weeks ago. “So, I encourage everybody to check your ticket.”
According to the Illinois Lottery's website, lottery winners have a year to claim their prize.
“For a prize of this magnitude, it’s not unusual for the winner to take a while to claim,” said Mays in a statement. “I’m sure they’re going through a range of emotions.”
Lottery winners occasionally try to take a moment and make a plan for the money, rather than jumping in to claim it immediately.
“We will work closely with the winner to respect any wishes for privacy and support them in any way we can to provide a positive winning experience,” said Mays.
Of course, there's also the chance that someone bought the winning ticket and then lost it.
So far, six unclaimed lottery prizes were won in Illinois in 2022, the biggest of which is the Mega Millions lottery.
The smallest unclaimed prize worth $100,000 was also purchased at a Speedway gas station.
There’s also a $1 million prize waiting to be claimed, the winner doesn't have much time left to snatch up their money since they purchased the ticket over six months ago on February 28.
The Illinois lottery website advises the winner to keep the ticket somewhere safe, turn to professionals for legal and financial advice and call the Lottery Player Hotline to arrange a pick-up for the prize.
You don't want to leave a billion dollars on the table!
