Purchaser Of $1.6M Winning Lottery Ticket From Sacramento Store Did Not Claim Prize By Thursday's Deadline
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- The person who purchased a $1.6 million winning lottery ticket in Sacramento did not come forward to claim the prize ahead of Thursday's deadline.
The ticket was bought last November at Lichine's Liquor & Deli on South Land Park Drive. Powerball winners who match five numbers have 180 days from the date of the draw to claim their prize.
The California Lottery said the only chance left for the winner to claim their prize is if they put their ticket in the mail with it postmarked for Thursday.
Many people this week were wondering why the ticket hadn't been turned in.
"It's just weird because I would have been in already and got my money," one person said.
"I think people should pay attention. If they bought a ticket, they want to win the money," another person said.
Unclaimed prizes go to public schools in California.
It's not the first time no one's turned in a winning ticket. Just last month, the deadline passed to claim a winning Powerball prize purchased in Riverside County.
"It was a little over $2 million," said Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the California State Lottery.
And what's the biggest unclaimed lottery ticket in state history?
"Back in August of 2015, we had a jackpot worth over $60 million," Becker said.
Since the lottery began in 1985, more than $1 billion in winning prize money has been given to schools because it was never claimed.