News writer, Interviewer
Ever check your glove compartment? Your junk drawer? That jacket pocket you haven't worn since December?
You might want to.
Right now, millions of dollars in Powerball prizes sit unclaimed across the United States. The winners just don't know it yet.
The Kentucky wake-up call
Kentucky Lottery officials are sounding the alarm. Five winners from the nation's 2025 billion-dollar jackpot runs still haven't come forward. Time is running out.
During two consecutive Powerball jackpot runs last year, the Kentucky Lottery had 34 winning tickets worth $6.75 million. Most winners claimed their prizes. But five tickets remain lost, forgotten, or tucked away somewhere.
The unclaimed prizes range from $50,000 to $100,000. Here's where they were sold:
- London: $50,000 ticket from Saddlebrook One, 525 West Laurel Rd. Sept. 3 drawing.
- Lebanon: $50,000 ticket from Five Star, 38 Dead Ready Lane. Sept. 8 drawing.
- Franklin: $100,000 ticket from Sudden Service, 3303 Scottsville Rd. December 8 drawing.
- Louisville: $50,000 ticket from Kroger Fuel Center, Shelbyville Rd. December 17 drawing.
- Scottsville: $50,000 ticket from Five Star, 1830 Commerce Dr., December 24 drawing.
Each winner has 180 days from the drawing date to claim their prize. The clock is ticking.
You're not alone if you forgot
Kentucky isn't the only state with missing winners.
In South Dakota, two major prizes remain unclaimed. A $2 million ticket from Gas N More in Mobridge expires February 19, 2026. A $500,000 ticket from Hy-Vee Gas in Sioux Falls expires February 23, 2026.
The Montana Lottery has a $100,000 ticket from Vic's Market in Whitefish. It expires February 22, just days away.
Colorado has multiple unclaimed tickets, including $200,000 from a Circle K and $100,000 from the September 6 jackpot drawing itself.
The list goes on: Arizona has six unclaimed $50,000 tickets. Iowa has prizes totaling $200,000. Delaware, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Rhode Island all have winners who haven't stepped forward.
What happens to unclaimed money?
In Kentucky, unclaimed prize money doesn't vanish. It goes to the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship fund. Other states have similar programs.
The South Dakota Lottery sends unclaimed prizes to its Unclaimed Prize Fund, which helps fund future games.
The retailers who sold winning tickets also have something at stake. They receive bonuses only if the prizes get claimed. In South Dakota, that means a $25,000 bonus for a $2 million ticket and $10,000 for a $500,000 ticket.
The historic context
These unclaimed prizes come from two record-breaking jackpot runs in 2025.
The first jackpot grew to $1.787 billion before someone won on Sept. 6. The second jackpot reached $1.817 billion and set a Powerball record with 47 drawings in a single cycle.
This marked only the second time in Powerball history that the game produced back-to-back billion-dollar jackpots.
During these runs, Kentucky alone had 14 large prize-winning tickets in the first jackpot and 20 in the second. The second run produced two $1 million prizes; one winner chose the Power Play feature and doubled their winnings to $2 million. Total prizes paid for these large winners were $4.05 million.
What should you do?
Check your tickets. All of them.
Look for tickets from last summer through Christmas. Check dates between September and January. Don't assume you lost.
Unless you plan to claim your winnings through a Tust (where possible), sign the back of any winning ticket immediately. Keep it in a safe place. Contact your state lottery as soon as possible.
The 180-day deadline doesn't pause or extend. Once it passes, your prize is no longer yours.
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