Down Angle Symbol A symbol in the form of an angle pointing downwards. Forms of the Mega Millions lottery in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle
- A $36 million lottery ticket went unclaimed in Florida.
- The potential winner failed to claim their winnings after 180 days.
- 80% of the unclaimed prize will be transferred to an education trust fund.
Someone in Florida could be walking around blissfully unaware that they've missed the chance to get rich instantly.
A lottery entrant lost $36 million after failing to declare his winning ticket before the deadline, the Florida Lottery said.
The 180-day claim period for the Mega Millions August drawing ended on February 11th.
The winning Quick Pick ticket was purchased at a Publix store in Jacksonville, Mega Millions reported, but was never claimed.
The Quick Pick option allows a machine to randomly select a player's lottery numbers.
The lottery tickets cost $2.
According to Florida law, 80% of the money is transferred to an education trust fund. The remaining 20% will be reserved for the prize pool.
Another Florida lottery ticket went unclaimed in December, when a Florida lottery ticket holder lost $44 million.
To validate the whopping cash prize, entrants must visit the Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee to authenticate the ticket.
The ticket was purchased at a Sunoco gas station in Kissimmee in June.
Last September, a Powerball jackpot rose to $835 million after multiple drawings failed to produce a winner.
In another unfortunate lottery incident, a woman in California accidentally destroyed her winning ticket during a drawing in 2021. The woman could not provide the required “compelling proof” that she owned the winning ticket because she had ruined it by putting it in the washing machine with her laundry.
Mega Millions is offered in 45 states, Washington DC and the Virgin Islands.
Business Insider has reached out to Mega Millions for comment.