The Florida Lottery announced on February 8 that the winner of the August 2023 Mega Millions drawing had a deadline of February 36, 11, to claim their $2024 million prize. However, no one showed up at the Florida Lottery offices to request their payment.
The winning ticket, which was also a quick pick, was sold at a Publix at 4495 Roosevelt Boulevard in Jacksonville. The drawing took place on August 15, 2023, and the winning numbers were 19-39-42-57-63 with Mega Ball 7 and multiplied by 3. The deadline to claim it expired this Sunday at 11:00 p.m.
According to Florida Lottery rules, a prize winner has 180 days after the drawing to claim his or her money. If he or she wishes to receive an option to receive his or her money in cash, the person only has 60 days after the drawing to claim payment. To find out if your ticket is the winner, you can download the mobile app for iOS or Android and scan the barcode.
Lottery regulations state that scratch-off tickets and Fast Play game prizes “must be claimed within 60 days of the official game end date. Once the applicable time period has elapsed, the associated Florida Lottery ticket will expire.”
In the event a Mega Millions jackpot is not claimed within the 180-day period, funds to pay the unclaimed jackpot are awarded to lottery individuals at their share of the jackpot rollover series sales, the Florida Lottery said.
In June 2023, a person bought a Florida Lottery ticket worth $44 million at a Sunoco gas station in Kissimmee, Osceola County, Orlando, and it expired six months later because no one claimed it. On December 11, it expired at midnight and a portion of the $44 million went back into the pot.
State law requires that 80 percent of unclaimed prize funds from expired tickets be transferred to the Educational Improvement Trust Fund. The remaining 20 percent is returned to the prize pool for future drawings. The same will now apply to the $36 million that was not claimed.
