$1.3 billion lottery winner has yet to claim prize
No one has claimed Illinois’s $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot prize after a month.
The Illinois Lottery reported that the winning ticket was bought at a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines in July. It is the third-largest lottery prize nationwide, with the numbers 13-36-45-57-67 and a Mega Ball of 14.
Winners have a year to claim their prize at one of the state’s five claim centers but only 60 days to decide whether they will receive the prize in cash or over 29 years. Should the winner choose the cash option, that’s as much as $780.5 million, according to the Associated Press.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE MEGA MILLIONS $1.3 BILLION JACKPOT IF NOBODY CLAIMS IT?
Any winner of a prize larger than $250,000 has the option to remain anonymous, according to Illinois Lottery policy.
“For a prize of this magnitude, it’s not unusual for the winner to take a while to claim,” said Harold Mays, the state’s lottery director, in a previous statement. “I’m sure they’re going through a range of emotions.”
Twenty-three cents of every dollar spent on a lottery ticket goes toward public education, infrastructure projects, and other special causes. $23 billion in revenue has gone to the state of Illinois since 1985. The Speedway will receive half a million dollars just for selling the ticket.
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Should the winner never come forward in the next year, the money will be distributed among the 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, that contribute to the game, according to the Mega Millions website.
