Someone got very, very lucky on July 29 and won $1.337 billion in the Mega Millions jackpot. The Speedway, located roughly 20 miles north of Chicago in Des Plaines, Illinois, sold the billion-dollar-plus winning ticket. In reality, ticket sales exceeded expectations, which led to the prize increasing from its initial $1.28 billion. Here in this post, you will read about what happens if your Mega Million jackpot is unclaimed.
The prize was the second largest ever won in the Mega Millions game. Only the $1.537 billion ticket bought at a KC Mart on October 23, 2018, in Simpsonville, South Carolina, has been larger in the past 20 years. (The 2016 Powerball jackpot of $1.586 billion was the highest ever.)
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Here’s the catch, though: At this time, no one has come forward to claim their prize. Illinois Lottery Director Harold Mays said in a statement that “for a reward of this magnitude, it’s not unusual for the winner to take a long to claim.” They must be experiencing a wide range of feelings right now.
It’s hard to believe, yet unclaimed lottery prizes total millions of dollars. The annual unclaimed lottery prize pool is put at around $2 billion.
The vast majority of them have prizes of $1 to $5. However, the $77 million Powerball jackpot from 2011 in Georgia was never claimed, and the $68 million Mega Millions jackpot from the December 24, 2002 draw in New York remains unclaimed to this day. The 2002 Indiana Powerball winning ticket was worth $51.7 million.
The large winners stated above have missed their chance to collect, but the owner of the winning Mega Millions ticket purchased at the Des Plaines Speedway still has a year from the day of the draw to come forward and claim their prize. (They’ll have to choose between annual payments and cash in just 60 days.)
In the end, states that have lotteries like Illinois do well because the money goes to support public K-12 education. Mega Millions has been running since 1985, and its jackpots have amassed $21 billion for state education budgets.
We can’t wait to hear the outcome and extend our congratulations to the lucky winner! Speaking to Parade.com, Pat McDonald, head of the Ohio Lottery and current Lead Director of the Mega Millions Consortium, explained the situation. But even better, “this spectacular jackpot run has had a major positive influence on the money for good causes raised by our member lotteries.”
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