$2 million and $500,000 Powerball lottery prizes set to expire in South Dakota

Comment #11

Todd — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 17:06:27 GMT

Here's a link to the California story, confirming the ticket was washed in the laundry and that the store received their commission nevertheless.

https://www.lotterypost.com/news/336927 (May 17, 2021

Comment #10

winterhug — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 12:36:27 GMT

It all depends on the state that sold the ticket. In California in 2021 a winning 26 million dollar Superlotto Plus ticket was sold at a store. A woman came forward and said she has the winning ticket but it had been destroyed. she accidentally left it in her pants pocket when she did the wash. The woman is known to frequent the store and video cameras show her buying the ticket but since she no longer had the physical ticket she could not claim the money but the store DID receive the 130K bonus... [ More ]

Comment #9

Bleudog101 — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 08:01:14 GMT

Remembering what the California lottery did years ago with a multi-million lottery prize. They put the video/stills up of the lady purchasing the winning ticket. Essentially outing her instead of giving her the chance to come forward. That was wrong! It was nowhere near expiration date either.

Comment #8

ShagE3 — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 02:26:59 GMT

The problem with waiting to the last possible moment to collect your winnings is that the lotto brings the story to the press about the winning ticket having limited time to be claimed and thus the whole story gets regurgitated and such. There will be two news cycles involved: one for the unclaimed announcement and two for the winning claim.

I think the key time to claim is before the lottery makes that unclaimed announcement whatever your guess on that is .... maybe month four if you have s... [ More ]

Comment #7

grwurston — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 23:41:44 GMT

If I win, can I remain anonymous?

Should a lottery prize winner choose to remain anonymous when claiming the prize, the South Dakota Lottery will honor that request. It should also be noted that the Lottery will release the name of the retailer that sold the winning ticket, game name and prize amount.

The winning player s personal information will never be shared for advertising or promotions unless the player opts into this on their claim form. However, if the Lottery receives an open

Comment #6

grwurston — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 23:35:14 GMT

Different states different rules. In most states the retailers receive a percentage even if the ticket goes unclaimed. SD is the exception. The retailers know this going in. Most states also give a 5-8% commission on the sale of each lottery ticket. In any state with unclaimed tickets the money goes back to the state, to the lottery, to state programs. Depends on the state.

Comment #5

GiveFive — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 23:25:43 GMT

I'm wondering if the player that won two million knows they won and is waiting until the bitter end to claim it.

Could they be thinking that when they claim, the win was six months ago so most of the public will have long forgotten it.

In Florida, where I'm located, players can claim anonymously for 90 days. If a player waited to the last day to claim and claimed anonymously for 90 days, that'd be a total of nine months from the date of the win. Sure, the Florida Lottery would eventuall... [ More ]

Comment #4

Bleudog101 — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 20:12:52 GMT

Way off subject, so I apologize.

KY lottery just announced the last day of Lucky for Life will be Feb 21, 2026 to make way for the new game.

Comment #3

noise-gate — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 16:20:51 GMT

* Neither do l. A winner not coming forward is not the retailer's problem, they fulfilled their end of the bargain. That won't fly in CA, what if the winner dies before claiming the prize? Time to get a lawyer.

Comment #2

Ranett — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 14:40:52 GMT

Retailers receive incentives for selling winning tickets, but only if the prizes are claimed, the Lottery advised.

I don't get it.

Comment #1

Bleudog101 — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 13:12:02 GMT

Certainly not the case of folks waiting for the new tax year to cash in...tickets are most likely long lost

$2 million and $500,000 Powerball lottery prizes set to expire in South Dakota

Lottery Post — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:44:36 GMT

Players are not the only ones to lose out on winnings: retailers lose too

By Kate Northrop

The South Dakota Lottery is looking for two missing winners of $2 million and $500,000 Powerball prizes, whose winnings will expire soon if they don't come forward to claim them.

There's not much time left on the clock to claim a $2 million and a $500,000 Powerball prize, both of which are set to expire in a little over a month.

Someone in South Dakota purchased a winning ticket for the Aug... [ More ]