Time is running out to claim $200million lottery prize that has not yet been collected

The clocking is ticking for a Mega Millions ticket holder who unknowingly won a portion of last year's $395 million jackpot.

The unidentified winner has until December 7 to claim $197.5 million after purchasing one of two winning tickets at a Chevron gas station in Encino, California.

The winning white ball numbers drawn on December 8, 2023, were 21, 26, 53, 66, 70, and the gold Mega Ball number was 13.

'We would love to see the rightful winner get their prize money. My hypothesis and hope is that the winner never knows,' Carolyn Becker, spokesperson for the California Lottery, said in a December 4 press release.

Besides the unidentified winner, twelve tickets matched the four white balls and the Mega Ball to win the game's third-tier prize.

Two of those tickets were worth $30,000 each since the 3X Megaplier was applied in the drawing.

The other 10 third-tier winning tickets are worth $10,000 each, and 715,952 players also walked away with smaller cash prizes.

Mega Millions ticket holders nationwide have a 1 in 302,575,350 chance of winning the jackpot.

Lottery officials were stunned to find out there were two jackpot winners who purchased their tickets from the same gas station last year.

'While this is incredibly unusual and interesting, it's not unheard of,' Becker said in a 2023 press release.

'There are any number of explanations; perhaps one person wanted to try their luck on two different rows for whatever reason, or maybe a couple of buddies wanted to try their chances with the same exact numbers.'

Becker added that lottery officials will never know what happened until a ticket holder comes forward and claims their prize.

'Only legitimate winners know the answers to some of our most important questions during the standard vetting process; it's one of the ways we determine that the person who claims the prize is, in fact, the rightful winner,' she stated.

The other Mega Millions jackpot winner came forward and collected his cash prize last June.

The winner, F. Lahijani, claimed half of the $395 million jackpot but declined to speak to the media about his win.

Lottery fans in California can purchase a Mega Millions ticket for $2 per draw.

The first December 8 jackpot winner's ticket indicated he had 10 draws, meaning he purchased it for $20.

Mega Millions prize amounts in California are pari-mutel, meaning prize amounts will vary based on ticket sales.

This also means that the number of Mega Millions winners will be different from the fixed prizes on the lottery website.

California also advised lottery players to refresh its website pages and search for draw dates if they are concerned the state made a mistake with the Mega Millions drawings.

'If there are any discrepancies, California State laws and California State Lottery regulations prevail,' according to the Mega Millions website.

'Complete game information and prize claiming instructions are available at all Lottery retailers.'

If the unidentified $197.5 million dollar winner does not come forward this weekend, their winnings will be going to California schools and refunded to other states that contributed to the jackpot.

Becker told the Los Angeles Times that about $80.5 million of the jackpot would be donated to other states in the US.

Lottery officials will then divide up $13.8 million and give it to various schools throughout California.

'It's fair to say in the last five to 10 years, we have averaged about $40 million to $50 million a year unclaimed,' Becker told the Los Angeles Times.

According to Becker, more than $1 billion has been unclaimed in California in Mega Millions history, and that it 'all funnels to schools.'