Time is running out for two lucky California Lottery winners to claim their prizes, each worth more than $2 million.
A Mega Millions ticket worth $2,151,945 will expire on Sunday, Sept. 1, unless the winner comes forward. The ticket, purchased at the Stater Bros. store at 69255 Ramon Road in Cathedral City, matched five of the six numbers drawn on March 5: 2, 49, 50, 61, and 70, missing only the Mega number 14.
Since the ticket expires on a Sunday, the deadline for claiming the prize is 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30. Winners can claim their prize at any of the nine California Lottery offices or mail a completed claim form, along with the winning ticket, to the lottery’s headquarters in Sacramento. The claim must be postmarked by Saturday, Aug. 31.
Lottery officials said the second winning ticket, a Powerball ticket worth $2,462,356, must be claimed by Thursday, Sept. 19. This ticket, sold at the 7-Eleven at 12500 Roscoe Boulevard in Sun Valley, matched five of the six numbers drawn on March 23: 6, 23, 25, 34, and 51, missing only the Powerball number 3.
Lottery winners have 180 days from the draw date to claim their prizes.
If the tickets go unclaimed, the winnings will go to public schools in California, as usual. Since ticket sales began in 1985, more than $1.1 billion in unclaimed prize money has been contributed to the state’s public education system, lottery officials said.