A winning Powerball ticket worth $1 million that hasn't been claimed yet is about to expire and forfeit its winnings next month, according to Arizona Lottery officials.
Someone had reportedly purchased the lucky Powerball ticket on May 21 at a Circle K store near Shea Boulevard and Scottsdale Road, for a Powerball drawing on May 22. However, the lucky ticket, which has gone unclaimed for months now, is set to expire on Tuesday, Nov. 19, unless the player who purchased it claims it on time. Tickets are only valid for up to 180 days after the drawings take place, FOX 13 reported.
“This is an amazing opportunity for one lucky player to make their dreams come true and take home a truly life-changing win,” Gregg Edgar, Arizona Lottery Executive Director said.
In addition to this, six other high-tier prizes worth a total of $1,260,000 also remain unclaimed.
"The winning ticket matched five numbers, but did not match the red Powerball to hit the jackpot," a statement said.
"Hate to see this one go unclaimed," said John Gilliland with the Arizona Lottery. He said that not claiming a prize this big is rare.
"You've got to be stupid to throw away a million-dollar ticket, or you’re not paying attention," said Clark Johnson who won $1,000 on Oct. 19, and nearly $200,000 a few weeks before that.
Lottery officials urged that people should search for the winning ticket as well as the mysterious winner.
"The chances are they weren't going to win that in the first place, so they've already beaten the odds once. Beat the odds again by finding that ticket," said Gilliland.
About $16.5 million dollars in lottery winnings went unclaimed in 2021. Meanwhile, in 2018, some $11 million in cash prizes forfeited. In 2019, $11.7 million went unclaimed. However, in 2020, lottery winnings worth a whopping $26 million expired without a lottery winner stepping up with the ticket, notably a single $14.9 million prize was left unclaimed, according to FOX 10 Phoenix.
In an unrelated incident, a retired Mason City Police investigator named Alan Haubrich won a $49,000 lottery prize one month after his wife's death, KIMT reported.
Haubrich reportedly built a proper memorial for his wife Sandra with the lottery prize and also spent the remainder of his earnings by paying off loan debt, as well as his house.
Haubrich believes that his wife who died one month before the incident was looking out for him.
"I think my wife was looking out for me...I really do," he said.
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