$1.34 Billion Lottery Ticket Winner Has Not Claimed Prize

According to NBC Chicago, the $1.34 billion Mega Millions lottery ticket that was purchased on July 29 at a gas station in Des Plaines, Illinois, has still not been claimed.

The Illinois lottery director said this summer at a press conference. "As far as the winner is concerned, we have not heard from the winner yet." While winners have one year from the drawing date to claim their prizes, they have 60 days from the winning date to select between the cash option or yearly installments.

The Illinois Lottery advises the winner to sign the back of their winning ticket, get legal advice, and schedule a meeting with the Illinois Lottery to claim their award. Have you ever won a prize from playing the lottery?

Tonight is the big night people.  It is the Mega Millions drawing and Americans are ready to win the money! What if you won the lottery? My first thing would be paying off my bills, putting some away, and then most likely I would take a vacation.

The US has had a handful of record-setting lottery jackpots this year, and Americans are looking to get in on the action. A new report shows nearly a quarter of Americans play the lottery at least once a month, and almost half (44%) say they play more when there’s a big jackpot on the line.

Those who do strike it rich often try to keep the winnings quiet. 83% of Americans say they wouldn’t want to tell others if they won. Significant others are in luck though - people say they’d give their SO a little more than 25%, but also said they’d expect more than 25% if the roles were reversed. You can take a look at the full report here.