KTLA

$36M Mega Millions jackpot winner goes empty-handed as ticket isn’t claimed in time

The Mega Millions logo is seen on a lottery machine inside the Idaho Lottery Commission on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2011, in Boise, Idaho. (AP Photo/Charlie Litchfield)

Somewhere, someday, a person will finally find a missing Mega Millions lottery ticket worth $36 million, except it won’t even be worth a single cent any longer.

A ticket displaying the jackpot numbers of 18-39-42-57-63 and Mega Ball 7 was sold at a Publix grocery store in Jacksonville, Fla. in time for the Aug. 15 drawing, and those numbers struck gold.

That ticket was suddenly worth more than $30 million before the lottery waited, waited and waited some more for a winner to come forward.

That person never did. The ticket expired on Feb. 11 as did most of the winnings along with it. According to the Florida Lottery, 80% of unclaimed prize money goes to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund. The rest goes back into the prize pool.