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If you live in Washington and play the Hit 5 draw game from the Washington Lottery, you better double-check your old tickets — you could be missing out on $440,000!
The unclaimed ticket
The Washington Lottery announced that an unclaimed Hit 5 ticket worth $440,000 will expire on May 21.
The winning Hit 5 ticket was purchased at the QFC, located at 3550 Factoria Boulevard Southeast in Bellevue. The drawing was held on November 23, 2023. The winning numbers for that draw were 8, 12, 16, 21, and 33.
If you happen to be holding onto the winning ticket, you can claim your prize at one of the regional offices of Washington's Lottery before 5:00 p.m. on May 21. The regional offices are located in Everett, Federal Way, Olympia, Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver, which are open to the public to claim prizes Monday through Fri from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Other unclaimed prizes
Besides the unclaimed Hit 5 ticket, the Lottery said there are 33 other unclaimed lottery prizes valued at $10,000 or more that are set to expire soon. These unclaimed tickets total more than $1.7 million.
The unclaimed prize list also includes a $1 million Powerball prize from a ticket purchased in Puyallup. That ticket expires in September. You can check out the full list of unclaimed prizes on the Washington Lottery website.
Timeframe for claiming a winning ticket
For winning tickets from the Washington Lottery, players have 180 days from the drawing date to claim their prize. If the player happens to win with a scratch-off ticket, they have 180 days from the last day of ticket sales to claim their prize.
If you are a winner of $100,000 or more, you are instructed to call the nearest Lottery office to schedule an appointment to make a safe and secure in-person claim.
What happens to the money that goes unclaimed?
If the prizes are unclaimed, the prize money is placed into a reserve account. Then, in June of every year, the surplus in the reserve account is transferred to the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account (WOPA), which helps support education in the state.
WOPA is in place to help college students across the state achieve their dreams and help support childhood education programs.
Where does Lottery revenue go?
So, where does the money from the Washington Lottery go? Since 1982, the Lottery has generated more than $5.3 billion to support several important state programs. This includes providing much-needed funding for the WOPA.
In FY23, WOPA received $199.9 million from the Lottery. How was that money used? A breakdown here:
- $139.1 million helped fund the Washington College Grant. This is a financial aid program that helped support more than 29,000 college students and apprentices across the state last year.
- $2.5 million helped fund the College Bound program, which helps eligible students attain a college or training degree or credential.
Enjoy playing the Washington Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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