Mega Millions results: How long does winner have to claim prize? What happens to jackpot?
THE MEGA MILLIONS prize was scooped by one lucky player on Tuesday, winning a staggering $1.6billion. How many days does winner have to claim prize? Then what happens to jackpot?
Mega Millions: Winning numbers for $1.6 BILLION jackpot
In the Mega Millions prize draw last night, one lucky ticket holder matched all six numbers and won the jackpot.
The winning numbers were: 5, 28, 62, 65, 70 with the Mega Ball being 5.
The staggering $1.6billion (£1.2billion) prize was so large as no-one had won for nearly three months.
The last winners were a group of 11 colleagues, who shared $543 million between them.
How many days does the winner have to claim prize?
Each state has different rules for Mega Millions winners collecting their prizes, which can also differ depending on the amount won.
Those who have won the Mega Millions jackpot need to contact the state lottery where they bought their ticket, and arrange to collect their money from the relevant headquarters.
Tickets remain valid for different lengths of time, depending on where the ticket was bought.
Those who bought physical tickets can only claim Mega Millions prizes in the state where they purchased their ticket.
You don't have to be a resident of that state, or even a US citizen to win the lottery awards.
Below are the time restrictions on claiming prizes for each state according to the Mega Millions official website:
90 days - New Mexico
180 days - Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington State, Washington D.C, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
182 days - Maryland
6 months - US Virgin Islands
1 year- California, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont
The lucky winner bought their ticket in South Carolina according to the South Carolina Education Lottery.
This means that they will have 180 days to claim their ticket.
What happens to unclaimed lottery tickets?
Often many US lottery winners who have won smaller, secondary prizes fail to collect their money.
In 2016, in California unclaimed winnings were worth more than $24 million, according to officials.
What happens to unclaimed prize money varies depending on the state.
According to Fox Business, in Michigan, the money goes to the state’s School Aid Fund, the Michigan lottery’s beneficiary.
Whilst in California, the money also will be put toward supporting the state’s public school system.
However in other cases, some states will put the unclaimed money back into the prize fund to add to payouts for future lotteries.