- The Washington Times - Saturday, December 7, 2024

A pair of Mega Millions tickets won the jackpot at an Encino, California, Chevron station on Dec. 8, 2023, but one of them was unclaimed. The winner has until Saturday to come forward.

The two winners split the prize of $395 million, and the unclaimed ticket is valued at $197.5 million, the California Lottery said in a release.

If someone doesn’t go to a California Lottery office by Saturday or mail in his or her ticket and paperwork to the lottery’s headquarters postmarked on or before Saturday, that money will go to state schools instead.

“We have no way of knowing who has the second jackpot-winning ticket from that incredible night. While it’s a shame for potential winners to see any winning ticket expire, it does give a helpful boost to California public schools. All unclaimed prize money winds up helping support public education,” California Lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Becker said.

The winner of the other half of the prize, an F. Lahijani, collected his winnings in June. The California Lottery didn’t say whether he took the lump sum or annuity option.

Other players may be able to win even more if they hit the current Mega Millions jackpot. After no one had all six numbers in Friday’s drawing, white balls 16, 21, 33, 39 and 45 and gold ball 24, the grand prize has grown to $619 million for Tuesday’s drawing. 

If won, the $619 million jackpot would be the 10th largest in Mega Millions history, the lottery said in a release. The jackpot was last won with an $810 million ticket bought in Texas and drawn on Sept. 10.

Mega Millions tickets are $2 a pop and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. They’re not available in Alaska, Alabama, Nevada, Utah or Hawaii.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.

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