Indiana Lottery Winner Claims Prize Days Before Ticket Expires
A syndicate of factory workers from Indiana came forward to claim a $50,000 Powerball prize just days before the 180-day claims period expired. The prize was won in the Powerball draw on 1st November 2017, but the winning ticket wasn’t discovered until days before the claims window closed on 30th April.
Leaving It Late
The syndicate of six colleagues from Chassix in Bristol, Indiana, have played the Powerball lottery for five years. Jorge Dominguez buys all the group’s tickets from the same 7-Eleven in Bristol, but it wasn’t until his daughter saw a news report about an unclaimed winning ticket sold at that store that he checked the numbers from the November draw.
The winning numbers from that draw were 3, 6, 19, 26, and 44 with Powerball number 1, and the syndicate managed to match four main numbers plus the Powerball to walk away with the prize. Had they managed to match the last main ball too, they would have won the $50 million jackpot. Nevertheless, Dominguez was glad to share the good news about the $50,000 win with his colleagues, including his supervisor, who didn’t believe it until he checked the numbers himself. The members of the syndicate will be glad to each receive the winnings of $8,333, as their factory is due to close soon, leaving them without work.
Huge Prizes Left Unclaimed Every Year
Millions of dollars in prize money goes unclaimed every year in lotteries around the world, including in the US. In Iowa, there is over $1.2 million in prize money waiting to be claimed, going all the way back to draws from May 2017. In Michigan, the total is more than double that at over $2.5 million, and in Minnesota, another $2 million is waiting to be claimed. In Illinois, there is a single $4 million Mega Millions prize still outstanding from a draw in February of this year.
The below table shows some of the biggest lottery prizes still to be claimed (note that not all state lotteries publish this information). The claims window is still open for all of these prizes, so time hasn’t quite run out for the winners.
| State | Prize Amount | Lottery | Draw Date | Claims Period Ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $50,000 | Powerball | Multiple | Multiple |
| Colorado | $50,000 | Powerball | Multiple | Multiple |
| Connecticut | $1,000,000 | Powerball | 06/01/2018 | 05/07/2018 |
| Delaware | $59,100 | Multi-Win Lotto | 02/01/2018 | 02/01/2019 |
| Florida | $29,935 | Fantasy 5 | 03/11/2017 | 02/05/2018 |
| Illinois | $4,000,000 | Mega Millions | 23/02/2018 | 23/02/2019 |
| Iowa | $1,000,000 | Powerball | 11/04/2018 | 11/04/2019 |
| Kansas | $50,000 | Powerball | Multiple | Multiple |
| Louisiana | $237,344 | Easy 5 | 28/03/2018 | 24/09/2018 |
| Michigan | $1,000,000 | Powerball | 27/09/2017 | 27/09/2018 |
| Minnesota | $1,547,874 | Gopher 5 | 22/07/2017 | 22/07/2018 |
| Missouri | $203,000 | Show Me Cash | 27/04/2018 | 24/10/2018 |
| Montana | $100,000 | Lotto America | 21/03/2018 | 21/09/2018 |
| Washington State | $1,000,000 | Powerball | 06/01/2018 | 07/05/2018 |
Claims periods very by state and by lottery, and can range between 90 days and a year. Lottery winners should always contact their state lottery in the event of a big win.
Jackpots to Claim This Week
While it is rare for lottery jackpots to go unclaimed, it is not unheard of. In 2012, an enormous £64 million EuroMillions jackpot went unclaimed. The money went into the National Lottery Good Causes fund. Back in 2002, a Mega Millions jackpot worth $68 million also went unclaimed. It goes to show that’s it’s always worth checking your lottery tickets, just in case you have a winner.
This week’s Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots have climbed to $126 million and $195 million respectively, after 18 rollovers between them. With the amount of attention jackpots receive when they climb this high, it is unlikely that a jackpot-winning ticket will be forgotten about. If it were, it would be by far the biggest lottery prize to go unclaimed.
Picking numbers online is an easy way to avoid missing out on winnings, as you will be notified of any prizes won. You don’t have to worry about keeping a physical ticket safe, and there’s no chance of missing out on potential nine-figure prizes should you win.