Illinois Lottery players fail to claim over $4 million worth of winnings

Somewhere in Illinois, in a desk drawer, a forgotten pocket, or maybe even a landfill, there's a lottery ticket worth over one million dollars that someone hasn't claimed. In total, Prairie State lottery players have failed to claim almost $5 million in lottery winnings, and if they don't cash in those tickets sometime next year, that money will be gone forever.

Multi-million dollar mystery

While most of the unclaimed tickets are worth $1,000 or less, as of December 19, 2023, three million-dollar jackpots still need a winner to step forward.

The biggest of the bunch is a Mega Millions ticket for the December 16 draw that was purchased at Lenny's Gas Station in Shorewood, IL, on December 14. This mystery winner will be $2 million richer if they bring their ticket to the state lottery office.

Next is a Lucky Day Lotto ticket worth $1.2 million that was purchased at a Jewel-Osco grocery store in Chicago on October 27 for that day's midday drawing. The winning numbers were 14, 15, 24, 25 and 34.

The final seven-figure winner is a $1 million Powerball ticket sold at a BP in Chicago Heights on August 14. Maybe that ticket's winner is still upset that they were only one number away from winning the entire Powerball jackpot.

Illinois Lottery and drawing game winners have left over $4.7 million unclaimed for the year.

Six-figure winners?

While every player dreams of a million-dollar jackpot, no one should be upset to take home “only” a six-figure prize. According to the Illinois State Lottery, eight unclaimed tickets have a value of at least $100,000.

The biggest is for a Lucky Day Lotto ticket with a cash-in value of $600,000. This lucky winner was purchased at a Jewel-Osco in Chicago on November 8.

Next on the list is a $450,000 Lucky Day Lotto ticket purchased at Kostner Korner Food Mart in Skokie on June 26.

Finally, somewhere out there is a $325,000 winner with an unclaimed Lucky Day Lotto ticket they bought at a BP in Lansing on November 18.

While there are unclaimed tickets from a dozen different games, Lucky Day Lotto players have the most trouble cashing in their big wins. The total amount of unclaimed cash for the draw game adds up to a whopping $3.7 million.

Fast play follies

While the big numbers are in the draw games, over eighty winning Fast Play tickets have yet to be claimed. Players who purchased Twenty 20s and Illinois Jackpot tickets will want to double-check their numbers. Of the unclaimed Fast Play tickets, 42 are for Twenty 20s, and 22 are for the Jackpot.

This is a quick reminder for Illinois Lottery players that you only have one year from the drawing to cash in your winning lottery tickets or one year from the time of purchase for Fast Play games.

So act fast, or that money, much like the dream home or car you imagined buying with it, will be gone forever!