POWERBALL officials are urging players to check their tickets – one lucky winner has just hours left to claim a $2 million prize.
The Grand Prize, won in a drawing in Colorado last December, will disappear if it goes unclaimed.
The $2 million prize is expiring today[/caption]
The ticket was bought at the Safeway Fuel Mini C-2612 in Aurora, a suburb of Denver.
The player won a $2,000,000 prize after they landed a Match 5 (five matching balls) and applied Power Play, which doubles the amount.
The ticket must be claimed by today or the money will return to the Colorado Lottery’s proceeds fund.
The Colorado Lottery writes on its website: “Colorado has thousands of unclaimed prizes every year.”
“Most of those are smaller prizes like $1 or $2.
“If we have a larger prize that is about to expire, we will try to alert the media and post on our social media pages to hopefully find the rightful winner.”
That same day on December 16, a Powerball prize was won at a draw held in Louisiana Meraux Food Store.
The player matched four white balls (Match 4), landing them the $50,000 prize.
If they had selected the Power Play feature, their winnings would have doubled to $100,000.
The prize won at the store on 2004 Paris Road, Chalmette is also expiring today.
This prize is also set to expire today.
Another lottery player has yet to claim a $1.1 million ticket drawn on September 8, 2024 in Chicago.
The winner has three months left to claim the prize.
While these prizes remain unclaimed, one lucky player has already claimed a $276,186 North 5 prize won in a Minnesota draw on May 31.
The Minnesota Lottery says that The Corner Store will receive a $1,000 bonus for selling the jackpot-winning ticket.
North 5 is a Minnesota-only lottery game where players choose five numbers between 1 and 34.
The prize fund is said to be heavily weighted towards the jackpot, as matching four out of five numbers only yields a $50 payout – despite odds of 1 in 1,919.
Meanwhile, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338, while the odds for the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
Lottery winnings: lump sum or annuity?
Players who win big on lottery tickets typically have a choice to make: lump sum or annuity?
The two payout methods can impact how much money you get from your prize.
Annuities pay out slowly in increments, often over 30 years.
Lump sums pay all at once but in a smaller amount, as taxes are withheld in one go. That means 24% of your prize goes to Uncle Sam right away. Many states tax winnings as well.
Annuities can provide winners time to set up the financial infrastructure required to take in a life-changing amount of money, but lump sums have the benefit of being taxed only once.
Inflation is also worth considering when making a choice, as payouts do not adjust with the value of a dollar. That means that you’ll likely be getting less valuable money towards the end of an annuity.
Each state and game pays out prizes differently, so it’s best to check with your state’s lottery to confirm payment policies. A financial advisor can also help you weigh the pros and cons of each option.
Experts have varying opinions on whether to take the lump sum or take the annuity.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are slightly higher than those of winning the Mega Millions jackpot[/caption]
