California $197 Million Winning Jackpot Ticket That Expires Soon Remains Unclaimed

Someone is about to miss out on becoming quite rich as a winning lottery ticket bought in Encino, California, in 2023 will expire on Saturday.

One winner eventually came forward after two lottery tickets were sold at the gas station as the Mega Millions jackpot hit $395 million, ABC 7 reported Thursday.

Now, the unclaimed prize is worth over $197 million and will expire on Saturday.

The outlet continued:

The California Lottery says they have no way of knowing who has that second ticket. That person has two options to claim their prize: They can bring the ticket with a claim form to a California Lottery office or mail both the form and the ticket to the Lottery headquarters in Sacramento. It must be postmarked on or before Dec. 7, 2024.

It is important to note that the winning numbers are 1, 26, 53, 66, 70, and 13.

However, if no one comes forward with the winning ticket to claim the money, it will go to California schools, per the Los Angeles Times.

“Not all of it, though. It becomes the California Lottery’s job to refund money back to the states that contributed to the pot,” the newspaper said.

When the two tickets were sold in December 2023, a gas station worker expressed his curiosity as to the identity of the person who bought the tickets. At the time, it was unclear if the tickets were purchased by one person or two parties, per Breitbart News.

The young man said, “I think it’s a regular. That’d be even cooler if it is because I would know them.”

In 2021, a $26 million winning lottery ticket someone bought at a convenience store in Los Angeles, California, went unclaimed.

The supposed winner told Inside Edition she accidentally dropped it into her laundry when she washed her jeans:

“Some of the employees and customers at the convenience store were surprised when they heard the news. Employees said she recently came back and explained her situation, and said they had video surveillance that supported her claim. But lottery officials said it was too late,” the outlet said.