The California State Lottery is making a final appeal for the owner of a $2.9 million Mega Millions winning ticket to come forward as the deadline to claim the prize looms. The winning ticket was purchased on December 12 at the SK gas station on 11280 National Blvd. in West Los Angeles. The ticket matched the numbers 8, 23, 44, 45, and 53, missing only the Mega Number 3. The deadline to claim this valuable slip is Friday at 7 p.m.
If the ticket goes unclaimed, the $2.9 million will be redirected to public schools in California, continuing the lottery’s practice of supporting education with unclaimed winnings. The winner has the option to claim the prize at any of the California Lottery’s nine offices across the state or by completing the necessary paperwork and ensuring it is postmarked by Saturday.
This situation brings to mind other significant lottery prizes that have gone unclaimed over the years. In Georgia, a winning Powerball ticket worth $77 million sold in 2011 went unclaimed despite extensive media campaigns urging the ticket holder to come forward. The funds were ultimately redirected to educational programs in the state.
Similarly, in the UK, a £63.8 million EuroMillions jackpot won in June 2012 remained unclaimed after the 180-day claim period expired. The money was then allocated to the National Lottery Good Causes fund, supporting various charitable activities across the country.
New York also saw a large unclaimed prize in December 2002 when a Mega Millions ticket worth $68 million was never claimed. The funds were returned to the participating states to be used for future prizes and promotional activities. In Indiana, a $51.7 million Powerball ticket purchased in 2002 went unclaimed, with the prize eventually returned to the lottery’s prize pool for future games.
California has had its share of unclaimed prizes as well. In 2015, a SuperLotto Plus ticket worth $16.5 million went unclaimed in Los Angeles. The money was given to California public schools, similar to what would happen with the current unclaimed $2.9 million Mega Millions prize. Ohio experienced a similar situation in 2011 when a winning Mega Millions ticket worth $14 million sold in the state went unclaimed, with the funds being used for educational programs and other initiatives.
Another significant unclaimed prize in California was a $10 million SuperLotto Plus ticket sold in 2007. Like other unclaimed prizes in the state, the money was redirected to public education. These unclaimed winnings highlight the importance of checking lottery tickets promptly and regularly, as many large prizes remain unclaimed due to lost tickets, forgotten purchases, or misunderstandings about the claim process.
The deadline for the current $2.9 million Mega Millions prize comes after a recent close call with a $1.765 billion Powerball jackpot in California. The winners, represented by Theodorus Struyck, claimed their prize just in time. The hope is that the holder of the $2.9 million ticket will also step forward before it’s too late.
