A $1.337 billion prize of Mega Millions remains unclaimed
It's been a month since one of the biggest Mega Millions jackpots fell in Illinois.
The authorities of Illinois (USA) are on the hunt for the mystery winner of a historic Mega Millions jackpot, who has yet to claim his prize of $1.337 billion (around 1.3 billion euros).
This is the third largest jackpot in the history of the lottery in the United States. The draw was held on 29 July. A little over a month has passed since then and, as of today, the lucky winner has not yet appeared. The only information about him is that he purchased his ticket at a Speedway gas station and convenience store in Des Plaines, Illinois, according to several US media reports.
The gas station that sold the winning ticket can also consider itself lucky to have awarded the prize, as it will receive a bonus of half a million dollars.
The Illinois Lottery Center has issued a citizen alert to locate the lucky winner. The director of the Illinois Lottery, Harold Mays Mays, told the media that "for a prize of this magnitude, it's not unusual for the winner to take a little while to claim it. I'm sure they're going through a variety of emotions," he added.
The winning combination of the draw was made up of the numbers 13, 36, 45, 57 and 67, and a Mega Ball of 14.
According to the Illinois Lottery lottery handbook "Lotto, Mega Millions and Powerball winners have 60 days after the draw date to choose the option of cash or annuity payments". "If you do not choose a payment option within the 60-day period, annuities will be paid automatically."
If the winner chooses cash, about $780.5 million will be paid out. If annual payments are selected, then the $1.337 billion will be paid out over 29 years.
Until when can the prize be claimed?
The winner of the ticket has a whole year to claim it, so it would be valid until July 2023.
What happens if the winner does not claim his/her prize within a year?
If no one claims the prize within one year, each state that participated in the game will recover all the money it contributed to the unclaimed jackpot. Each state can then decide how to use that money.
