Iowa has more than 100 unclaimed winning lottery tickets. See how much they're worth.

Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez, Des Moines Register
Updated

Every player wants to win, but does every winner claim their prize? The Iowa Lottery says winners don't always come forward, meaning prizes aren't always awarded.

Iowa Lottery tracks unclaimed prizes greater than $600, and keeps an updated list on its website.

How long do I have to claim an Iowa Lottery prize like Powerball or Mega Millions?

Don't lose your Iowa Lottery tickets. The are more than 120 prizes of $600 or more across the state waiting to be claimed.
Don't lose your Iowa Lottery tickets. The are more than 120 prizes of $600 or more across the state waiting to be claimed.

Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto America and Lucky for Life prizes won before April 22, 2023 are valid for one year after the drawing in which the prize was won. Newer prizes are only valid for 180 days (about 6 months).

Pick 3 and Pick 4 tickets are valid for 90 days after the drawing. InstaPlay prizes must be claimed within 90 days of purchase.

Prizes of more than $600 have to be claimed at an Iowa Lottery office and prizes of more than $250,000 must be claimed at the Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.

Mega Millions had the biggest unclaimed lottery prize in Iowa

Iowa Lottery officials spent a year to find the person who purchased a Mega Millions ticket worth $1 million in Ames. The ticket, purchased Sept. 6, 2022 at The Filling Station/Gateway Expresse, 2400 University Blvd., was the only ticket in the country that night to match the five white balls.

The winning numbers that day were 6, 17, 46, 59 and 68. The Mega Ball was 2, and the Megaplier number was 4. No tickets that day matched all six numbers.

The ticket was never claimed and expired on Sept. 6, 2023.

Database: Explore Iowa's biggest lottery winners

What are the other top unclaimed Iowa Lottery prizes?

There are 115 unclaimed lottery prizes in Iowa that are greater than $600, as of Sept. 7, 2023. There are two $625 prizes, one $750 prize, more than 25 $800 prizes and more than 70 prizes that are $1,000 or more.

  • $150,000

    • Game: Powerball

    • Location purchased: Sioux City, Floyd Food & Fuel

    • Expiration date: Oct. 30, 2023

  • $150,000

    • Game: Powerball

    • Location purchased: Sheldon, Hy-Vee C-Store

    • Expiration date: Nov. 6, 2023

  • $50,000

    • Game: Powerball

    • Location purchased: Davenport, QC Mart

    • Expiration date: March 4, 2024

  • $20,000

    • Game: Mega Millions

    • Location purchased: Waterloo, Hy-Vee

    • Expiration date: March 4, 2024

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: See all the top Iowa Lottery prizes that are left unclaimed

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