‘Keen to unite the winner and their winnings:’ Illinois Lottery searching for Powerball winner as deadline to claim prize approaches

CHICAGO — A lucky Illinois lottery player struck it big during a Powerball drawing last year and officials are searching for the winner as the deadline to cash the ticket is quickly approaching.

Illinois lottery officials said a $100,000 winning Powerball ticket for the Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023 drawing was sold in September at a Road Ranger convenience store in the 7500 block of East Riverside Boulevard in Loves Park, a city located northeast of Rockford.

The lucky player matched four out of the five numbers drawn, plus the Powerball, but the prize remains unclaimed and officials are warning the winner that time is quickly running out as players only have one year from the date of winning to claim their prizes.

“The Illinois Lottery is keen to unite the winner and their winnings, and is calling on all Powerball players who have visited Loves Park, Ill., to check anywhere they may have tucked away a lottery ticket,” an Illinois Lottery spokesperson said in a press release on Friday.

According to officials, the $100,000 ticket is just one of several significant winning Illinois Lottery tickets that have yet to be claimed.

The prize amounts of the eight unclaimed tickets range from $100,000 to $1,000,000, totaling more than $3.8 million in prizes.

Officials provided the following list of winning tickets, as well as the dates and locations of sale:

• $1 million Lotto prize – ticket sold on Aug. 12, 2024, at South Gate Mini Mart in Homewood.
• $1 million Mega Millions prize – ticket sold on July 26, 2024, at Casey’s in Rockford.
• $1 million Lotto prize – ticket sold on July 6, 2024, at ARCO in Chicago.
• $100,000 Powerball prize – ticket sold on May 13, 2024, at Valli Produce in Rockford.
• $300,000 Lucky Day Lotto prize – ticket sold on May 11, 2024, at Spartan Bros Imported Foods in Chicago.
• $100,000 Powerball prize – ticket sold on March 23, 2024, at Hucks in Centralia.
• $250,000 Lucky Day Lotto prize – ticket sold on Oct. 29, 2023, at FairPlay Foods – Cermak in Chicago.
• $100,000 Powerball prize – ticket sold on Sept. 9, 2023, at Road Ranger convenience store in Loves Park.

Players are advised to write their names on the backs of winning tickets and keep them in a safe place until they are ready to claim their prizes.

Visit the Ilinois Lottery website to see a full list of unclaimed prizes.

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