As of Wednesday afternoon, a $1 million Mega Millions ticket sold in Arizona has yet to be claimed, lottery officials said.
That winning ticket was sold at a Chevron gas station in Phoenix located at 4737 E. Broadway Road, and it matched five of the six numbers drawn Tuesday evening, according to John Gilliland with the Arizona Lottery.
After Tuesday’s drawing, the Mega Millions lottery hit an estimated $630 million as no player matched all six numbers.
A prize of that number means a winner would take home about $359.7 million in cash, according to Gilliland. That’s after paying just $2 or $3 for a ticket.
“When we cross that half a million threshold and start to approach $1 billion, the excitement really builds and so even more people decide to jump at the chance to make their dreams come true and buy a Mega ticket Millions, so there’s really no telling. how high the next Mega Millions jackpot could go,” Gilliland said.
According to Gilliland, the estimated prize money could still grow substantially between now and the next drawing this Friday evening.
“You can’t win if you don’t play, and you can’t win if you don’t claim your prize,” Gilliland said.
Tuesday’s winning numbers were 2, 31, 32, 37 and 70, and the Mega Gold Ball was 25. The night’s Megaplier was 3, meaning the unknown winner could receive $3 million if he paid the extra dollar for the opportunity. to multiply their earnings.
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Winning tickets expire 180 days after the numbers are drawn, so that winner will have until Jan. 15, 2023, to claim their prize, Gilliland said.
“We really want our players to claim their prizes because the lottery is all about doing good in the community and making dreams come true,” Gilliland said.
If the prize money is not claimed in time, it can end up in a few different places.
Gilliland said a little more than half will go back into the prize pool. The rest goes to a few different state beneficiaries.
For example, Gilliland said Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, of Arizona, a volunteer organization that helps represent abused and neglected children in court, is funded mostly by unclaimed lottery money.
Gilliland advised lottery players to keep their tickets safe and sign them so they can retain rights to their winnings. And of course, he said players should be sure to check the winning numbers.
The next Mega Millions drawing will be this Friday at 8pm Arizona time.
Contact breaking news reporter Sam Burdette at sburdette@gannett.com or on Twitter @SuperSafetySam
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