News writer
Ohio Lottery players had an incredible 2024, claiming a staggering $2.98 billion in prizes. But amidst the flurry of winners, a $138 million Powerball jackpot ticket sold in Huber Heights quietly expired unclaimed — marking one of the largest jackpots ever forfeited.
And Ohio wasn't alone: Minnesota also saw a million-dollar raffle prize go unclaimed. How do massive prizes slip through the cracks, and what happens next? We take a look into the issue.
Goodbye $138 million
On July 3, 2024, one lucky ticket purchased in Huber Heights, Ohio, won the $138 million Powerball jackpot. The Ohio Lottery gives players 180 days from the date of a drawing to claim a prize. That means the deadline for this winning ticket was December 30, 2024.
As exciting as it is to win that big of a jackpot, the winner never stepped forward, and the prize went unclaimed.
The winning ticket, which was an auto-pick ticket, was sold at Walmart Supercenter #1495, located at 7680 Brandt Pike in Huber Heights. The winning ticket matched all six of the numbers drawn that night, which were 2, 26, 33, 55, and 57, and a Powerball number of 22.
If the lucky winner had stepped forward, they would have had the option to take the annuity prize payable over 30 years or the cash option, which would have been a one-time payment of $65.8 million before taxes.
Big year of winning in Ohio
The Ohio Lottery recently announced that players had a really big year of winning in the state. While the $138 million Powerball jackpot was by far the biggest jackpot won in the state, other players fared quite well.
In 2024, Ohio Lottery players cashed in more than $2.98 billion in prizes. Despite someone missing out on that $138 million jackpot, players still had a very good year. This $2.98 billion in prizes includes two other big winners in the state — a $5.75 million win for a Lucky for Life player on November 18 and a $19.4 million win for a Classic Lotto player on November 27.
Minnesota player also misses out
While lottery officials in Ohio shared the news of an unclaimed jackpot, officials in Minnesota also shared news of a $1 million-winning raffle ticket going unclaimed.
The winning ticket was from last year's Minnesota Millionaire Raffle, which the drawing took place on January 1, 2024. The person holding onto one of the two $1 million tickets — which was purchased at Coborn's grocery store in Delano — had one year to claim the prize, which meant they had to claim it by December 31, 2024.
They didn't claim it by the deadline, and now the prize remains unclaimed. Lottery officials said it is unusual for a prize that large to go unclaimed, but not unprecedented. In 2023, the Minnesota Lottery had almost $18 million in prizes that went unclaimed.
Now, officials wait for the next pair of winners to step forward and claim their prize, hopefully. Two new $1 million-winning tickets were announced on New Year's Day for this year's Minnesota Millionaire Raffle. The winning tickets were purchased at Bill's Superette in Nowthen and at Casey's General Store in Tracy.
What happens to the unclaimed prizes?
So, these prizes go unclaimed, but what happens to the winnings? In Ohio, officials said sales generated in the state that contributed to the jackpot go to an unclaimed prize fund. This fund then becomes part of the lottery profit, which helps support education in Ohio. The state will retain about $1.9 million from this jackpot.
In Minnesota, any unclaimed prizes are forfeited and that prize money goes into the state's general fund for legislators to decide where the money goes in their annual budget.
Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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