A missed deadline last weekend means someone in Florida lost out on $36 million.
No one stepped up to claim the prize from the August drawing before the deadline, rendering the Mega Millions lottery ticket void.
As a result, the winner has forfeited the winnings – the ticket is now only worth the paper it was printed on, Michelle Griner, a spokesperson with the Florida Lottery, told CNN.
The deadline to claim the prize was Sunday, marking the end of the 180-day claim period. The winning ticket was purchased at a Publix in Jacksonville with the winning numbers: 18-39-42-57-63. The Mega Ball number was 7 with a multiplier of 3x.
This was the only unclaimed Mega Millions jackpot ticket in 2023, according to the Mega Millions website.
While most unclaimed prizes are small – a few dollars – million-dollar rewards have gone unclaimed.
A $26 million prize in California went unclaimed in 2021 after a woman mistakenly washed the ticket with her laundry. And in 2011, a Powerball ticket for $77 million went unclaimed in Georgia.
But there is some good news in all this – the funds from this unclaimed ticket are going to a worthy cause.
Florida law requires that 80% of the unclaimed prize funds be transferred to a trust fund for education, with the remainder being held for the prize pool, according the state lottery.
