Oh, Florida! In two months, there have been two multimillion-dollar jackpots — from two different games — that expired here.
In one scenario, someone bought a Florida Lotto ticket worth $44 million from an Orlando-area gas station, and it expired six months later. In the other, someone bought a Mega Millions ticket at a Jacksonville Publix worth $36 million one week after a Publix in nearby Neptune Beach sold the winning Mega Millions ticket worth $1.58 billion.
So, in total, how much did "Florida" lose with these two unclaimed jackpots? A whopping $80 million.
Ouch.
Here’s what we know about the unclaimed jackpots from Florida and other missed opportunities to collect a lottery prize.
Who sold winning Mega Millions ticket in Florida worth $36 million that expired?
Publix, 4495 Roosevelt Blvd., Jacksonville, sold a Quick Pick ticket worth $36 million for the Aug. 15, 2023, Mega Millions drawing. The deadline to claim was midnight ET Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, aka Super Bowl Sunday.
The winning Mega Millions numbers for Aug. 15, 2023, were 18-39-42-57-63 and the Mega Ball was 7. Multiplier was 3x.
Even if someone found the ticket now, it is too late to claim the prize money.
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Did a lottery jackpot expire in Orlando, Florida, in 2023?
A lucky person bought a winningFlorida Lottery ticketworth $44 million on June 14, 2023, Flag Day, from a Sunoco gas station in Kissimmee in Osceola County.
The Sunoco is about 20 miles away from Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando and other theme parks and attractions in neighboring Orange County.
According to theFlorida Lottery, this ticketexpired at midnight Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. Per rules, a part of the $44 million went back into the pot since no winner came forward at Florida Lottery headquarters. State law requires 80% of unclaimed prize funds from expired tickets be transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund. The remaining 20% is returned to the prize pool for future drawings. Using that math formula, 80% of $44 million is $35.2 million, and 20% is $8.8 million.
Who sold the winning Florida Lotto ticket worth $44 million that expired? Will there be a bonus commission?
The winning ticket for the Wednesday, June 14, 2023, drawing was purchased atSunoco Express, 2655 N. Orange Blossom Trail, Kissimmee in Osceola County. Coincidentally, June 14, 2023, was Flag Day.
TheFlorida Lotto Quick Pick ticketworth $44 million had the winning numbers of 9-13-15-46-51-52. Even if someone found the ticket now, it is too late to claim the prize money.
It wasn't all bad news, though: The Sunoco gas station was featured in national news for selling the winning ticket and will receive a bonus commission. In an October email to the USA TODAY Network, a Florida Lottery spokesperson explained, "retailer bonus commissions on lottery tickets vary by state but are typically 5% to 6%." It was not announced how much Sunoco received.
To compare, a Publix in Neptune Beach, Florida, sold the winning ticket for a $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot for Aug. 8, 2023. That store received a $100,000 bonus commission. In January 2016, a Publix in Melbourne Beach, Florida, sold one of three winning tickets for the then-largest Powerball jackpot in history, a whopping $1.586 billion prize. That Publix also got $100,000 for a bonus commission.
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There are more than 13,000 authorized Florida Lottery retailers here.
When do Florida Lottery tickets expire? When is the deadline to claim a jackpot?
For those wondering, Florida lottery tickets expire within 180 days (six months) from the date of the drawing. To claim a single-payment cash option, a winner has within the first 60 days after the applicable draw date to claim it. Florida Lottery says its scratch-off tickets and Fast Play game prizes "must be claimed within 60 days of the official end-of-game date. Once the applicable time period has elapsed, the relatedFlorida Lottery ticketwill expire."
Other unclaimed lottery jackpots in Florida
Since the Florida Lottery was launched in 1988, there have been 30 unclaimed jackpots, ranging from $1.2 million to $66 million, Michele Griner, a spokesperson for the agency, told USA TODAY, adding there are about 166 lottery drawings every year. News reports show one Florida Lottery jackpot in 1991 expired, with $15 million unclaimed.
Powerball ticket from Tampa, Florida, worth $16 million expired in 2013
According to a November 2013 story posted on the Daytona Beach News-Journal, on Saturday, May 25, 2013, a lucky person bought a Powerball ticket worth $16 million from Carrollwood Market in Tampa with the numbers: 2-6-19-21-27 and 25 as the Powerball. Two other tickets from Delaware and Louisiana also matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in a $50 million jackpot. Though the Florida Lottery publicized the ticket's expiration date and the owner of Carrollwood Market had signs posted at the store to find its mystery winner, no one claimed their share of the $50 million prize − or $16 million − at Florida Lottery headquarters.
"There's lottery money that goes unclaimed every year but it's rare for these big jackpots to go unclaimed," Florida Lottery spokeswoman Shelly Gerteisen told The Miami Herald in 2013, according to the News-Journal story. "Maybe the ticket got blown away or lost. Or maybe someone visiting Florida bought it and left and forgot about it. We really did everything we could," Gerteisen said.
Like Sunoco in Kissimmee, however, Carrollwood Market did not end up empty-handed: The Tampa convenience store received a $25,000 bonus commission.
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Florida Lotto ticket from Miami area worth $50 million expired in 2003
On Wednesday, March 12, 2003, a lucky person bought a winning Florida Lotto ticket worth $50 million from Kohl's Food Market in North Bay Village in Miami-Dade County, according to a 2003 story by the Lakeland Ledger. "I think somebody lost that ticket, no doubt about it," store owner Mohammad Azim Hossain told the Ledger, a USA TODAY Network-Florida newspaper. "I checked my tickets, I didn't match the number. I know all my customers, all my players − nobody came and asked."
Because no one redeemed the winning ticket, the money was returned to the Florida Lottery and used for promotions or prizes, lottery spokeswoman Sheila Griffin said in the story.
The winning numbers for the March 12, 2003, Florida Lotto jackpot were 22-23-35-45-50-53.
Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY; Brendan Farrington, the Ledger
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her onTwitteror Instagram at@byjensangalang. Support local journalism.Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.
