$1 Million Minnesota Prize Now Gone For Good

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The deadline for cashing in a winning ticket worth one million dollars has passed, meaning that massive prize is now gone for good in Minnesota.

Imagine having a winning lottery ticket worth one... million... dollars... and then not turning the ticket in, the deadline passes, and you're now out... one...million... dollars. That would be awful, right? But that's apparently what happened to one Minnesota Lottery winner recently.

The Minnesota Lottery told BringMeTheNews that the winning Mega Millions ticket was worth a whopping $1 million and was sold at Casey's General Store on University Avenue in Fridley back on July 29, 2022.

According to Minnesota Lottery rules, you have 365 days to redeem your winning ticket and claim your prize:

In Minnesota, lotto game players have one year from the date of the drawing to claim prizes. All scratch games prizes must be claimed within one (1) year of the announced end of the game.

But whoever bought that winning ticket back in 2022 never claimed it before the deadline passed in July of 2023, so that million-dollar prize is... gone. Well, it's not gone, the money was instead moved to the state of Minnesota's general fund, as BringMeTheNews noted.

Can you imagine finding out you won a million dollars only to not claim your prize and then realizing that you just LOST a million dollars?!? Yikes. However, winners not claiming prizes happens more than you'd think, according to BringMeTheNews. The Lottery said that million-dollar prize was part of $14 million in prizes that went unclaimed in 2023!

In case you're curious about what ELSE the Minnesota Lottery does with its unclaimed prizes and other money it takes in, here is how it's spent: Since 1990, the lottery has generated more than $3.8 billion for programs that positively impact the lives of Minnesotans, the Lottery said.

More than $1.7 billion has helped preserve, restore, and protect Minnesota’s environment through the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, Game and Fish Fund, and the Natural Resources Fund. Another $2.1 billion has helped fund state programs, including education, public safety, and health and human services, the Lottery's website notes.

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