Millions, if not billions, are up grabs once a winning lotto ticket goes unclaimed. What to know about who gets to keep it.
Time is running out for the lottery player who bought Mega Millions ticket worth more than $2.9 million in Los Angeles.
The person who bought the $2,941,708 ticket has until 5 p.m. Friday to claim the multi-million dollar prize. The ticket was purchased Dec. 12 at the SK Gas Station on National Boulevard, just south of the 405 and 10 freeway interchange in the West Los Angeles area.
That ticket matched the numbers 8, 23, 44, 45, and 53, just missing the Mega Number 3 in that night's drawing.
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The ticket can be brought to one of nine California Lottery offices. The winner also can fill out and return paperwork that must be postmarked by Saturday.
"Given this weekend’s deadline, the Lottery is encouraging all players to double-check any Mega Millions tickets they’re hanging onto as soon as possible," the Lottery said in a statement.
Mega Millions winners who match five numbers have 180 days from the date of the draw to claim their prize. If a claim isn't submitted by the deadline, the $2.9 million will go to public schools in California.
Claiming a lottery prize of more than $600 requires a claim form. The California Lottery offers forms for individual and group winners here.
The California Lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion in unclaimed prizes since tickets first went on sale in 1985, according to the agency.
This week, a Mega Millions ticket matching five numbers, but missing the Mega number, was sold in West Covina and worth a hefty sum of $285,828. On Friday, a lottery player in Chino Hills also matched five of six numbers. That ticket was worth $508,408.
