It’s been more than a week since some lucky person – or persons – won the $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot. But, as of today, no one has come forward to claim the prize.
What happens if no one ever does? That’s explained on the Mega Millions website. Here’s what it says:
“If a jackpot prize is not claimed within the required time limit (which varies by state), each participating state in the Mega Millions game will get back all the money that state contributed to the unclaimed jackpot. Each state uses its unclaimed lottery prizes for different purposes. Contact the lottery where you play to find out how unclaimed prizes are used.”
Illinois requires Mega Millions winners to come forward within one year after the drawing date to claim their prize. It is also one of the states that allows winners to remain anonymous if they choose so we may never know more than the winner has stepped forward.
A Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, Illinois sold a ticket matching the winning numbers – 13, 36, 45, 57 and 67 plus Mega Ball 14 – on July 29. The buyer won a $1.34 billion prize paid over 29 years but could also opt for the cash jackpot – $780.5 million. The gas station that sold the prize also received a bonus of $500,000.
The $1.337 billion prize is the second largest in Mega Millions history. The current record jackpot for Mega Millions is $1.537 billion, won on Oct. 23, 2018. That winning ticket was sold in South Carolina, and it remains the world’s largest lottery prize ever won on a single ticket.
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