Winning California Lottery Ticket Has Hours Left To Be Claimed

A winning $2.9 million lottery ticket in California has hours left to be claimed.

NBC Los Angeles reported that the person who bought a ticket with a $2,941,708 Mega-Millions prize has until 5 p.m. June 7 to claim their prize. The ticket was purchased on Dec. 12, 2023, at the SK Gas Station on National Boulevard, just south of the 405 and 10 freeway interchange. The ticket matched the numbers 8, 23, 44, 45, and 53. The winning ticket did not have the Mega number 3, which would have substantially increased the total winnings of the prize.

The lottery commission said in a statement that the winner must come forward. “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. If a person believes they have the winning ticket, they’ll need to complete a California Lottery claim form,” the statement said.

The commission explained that Mega Millions winners who match five numbers have 180 days from the drawing date to claim their prize. If nobody submits a claim, the $2.9 million prize will go toward California’s public schools.

Surprisingly, the California Lottery exists solely to generate extra money for public education. The game has raised over $1.1 billion in unclaimed prizes since tickets first went on sale 39 years ago in 1985.

An average of $50 million typically goes unclaimed in California each year. “In the last 5 to 10 years, it’s averaged $40 and 50 million a year,” said Carolyn Becker, the spokesperson for the California Lottery. “My strong hypothesis is that when a ticket goes unclaimed, it’s because that person doesn’t even realize they’ve won, or they lost a ticket and can’t check it.”

The winning numbers are available on the California Lottery website. The California Lottery mobile app allows you to scan your ticket instantly.