California Lottery urges players to check their tickets as deadline approaches
A $2.94 million Mega Millions ticket purchased in Los Angeles expires this weekend. The ticket, sold at the SK gas station at 11280 National Boulevard in the Westdale neighborhood, was for the drawing on December 12 of last year. The numbers 8, 23, 44, 45 and 53 were correct, but the Mega Number 3 was a missing number.
The California Lottery is urgently urging ticket holders whose tickets match the drawing numbers to come to one of nine lottery offices across the state by 5 p.m. on Friday to claim their prize. Lucky ticket holders should not miss out on this opportunity. Alternatively, tickets and necessary documentation can be mailed with a postmark by Saturday, June 8. With the deadline fast approaching, the Lottery is urging all players to check for any Mega Millions tickets they still have.
To receive their prize, winners must complete a California Lottery claim form, available online, at a lottery office, or at any of California Lottery’s 23,000 retail partners across the state. The completed claim form and winning ticket may be submitted in person or mailed to:
California Lottery Headquarters
730 North 10th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
Mega Millions winners who match five numbers have 180 days from the drawing date to claim their prize. If the $2.94 million prize has not been claimed by the end of this week, the money will be distributed to California’s public schools, in accordance with the lottery’s mission. It is worth noting that since its inception in 1985, the California Lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion in unclaimed prizes for public education, making a significant impact on communities’ education systems.
While no Mega Millions jackpot winners came from California in recent drawings, the $552 million jackpot won in Illinois on Tuesday night provided a big benefit to California schools. The Lottery Association estimates that ticket sales in the 20 drawings leading up to the jackpot raised $42.8 million for public education.