Unclaimed California Lottery Ticket Worth Nearly $200 Million Is Set to Expire

A security guard passes signs displaying lottery prize amounts in Rosemead, California, on July 19, 2023. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

If you’re in California and have an unclaimed lottery ticket lying around from December 2023, you might be in some serious luck, but you'll have to act quickly. A ticket worth nearly $200 million is set to expire in just two days.

On Dec. 8, 2023, two tickets were sold at the Encino Chevron located at 18081 Ventura Boulevard, approximately 20 minutes northwest of downtown Los Angeles, each matching the numbers drawn for the $395 million jackpot. Since both tickets bore the winning numbers, the owners would split the prize.

But only one winner came forward, in June, to claim their half: $197,500,000.

The California Lottery does not know who has the other ticket.

It is extremely rare for two winning tickets to be sold at the same retailer. This was the first time it had happened in a California MegaMillions jackpot.

“While this is incredibly unusual and interesting, it’s not unheard of,” Carolyn Becker, California Lottery spokesperson, said at the time. “There are any number of explanations; perhaps one person wanted to try their luck on two different rows for whatever reason, or maybe a couple of buddies wanted to try their chances with the same exact numbers. We won’t know exactly how this happened until the prize is claimed.”

To claim a prize, a winner must present the ticket with a claim form at one of nine California Lottery offices around the state or fill out online paperwork and mail both the form and the ticket to the Lottery headquarters in Sacramento. The envelope must be postmarked on or before Dec. 7.

The winning numbers are: 21, 26, 53, 66, 70, 13

There is no way of knowing who has the second jackpot-winning ticket. In the event a ticket goes unclaimed, the money goes to public schools just like other lottery proceeds.

The current MegaMillions jackpot is $579 million, with the prize due to be announced on Dec. 6.

To win the jackpot, a ticket must match all five numbers on the five white balls and the gold Mega Ball.

Players pay $2 for a ticket, though prices will increase to $5 beginning in April as part of a revamping of the game’s rules.

MegaMillions is played in 45 states, Washington D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.