Mega Millions Winner Loses Out On $36 Million Jackpot
By Jason Hall
February 18, 2024
A Mega Millions winner's luck ran out after they failed to claim their $36 million jackpot winnings in time.
A player who purchased their winning ticket form a Publix in Jacksonville, Florida, failed to claim their prize before the deadline set for midnight last Sunday (February 11), the Florida Lottery confirmed to FOX Business on Friday (February 16). The lottery winner had 180 days to claim their $36 million jackpot for the drawing on August 15, 2023, before it expired.
The ticket matched the numbers 18, 39, 42, 57, 63 and the No. 7 Mega Ball to win the grand prize. The Mega Millions jackpot had reset several times since the drawing on August 15, with the last jackpot hitting at $395 million on December 8.
In January 2023, the jackpot reset four times, which included one player in Maine winning the estimated $1.35 billion drawing on January 14, one player in New York winning the following $20 million drawing on January 17, one player in Massachusetts winning the $31 million drawing on January 24 and another player in Massachusetts winning the $31 million drawing on January 31.
The January 14, 2023 Mega Millions drawing was the second-highest in the game's history and offered the fourth-largest jackpot in the U.S. lottery history. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are reported to be 1 in 302.5 million, according to MegaMillions.com.
The Mega Millions jackpot has exceeded the billion mark five times in its existence. One player in California had previously matched all six numbers to win the $2.04 billion ($997.6 million) Powerball jackpot on November 7, 2023, the largest jackpot offered in U.S. lottery history, according to the official Powerball website.
Both jackpots increase during each following game until there's a winning ticket matching all six numbers drawn, which includes the additional Mega Millions "gold ball" or Powerball in each respective game.