Buy a lottery ticket in Washington? $1.2 million in unclaimed prizes up for grabs
If you’ve bought a lottery ticket in Washington state, time may be running out to claim your winnings.
More than $1.2 million in unclaimed lottery prizes are set to expire as soon as Monday, Jan. 19, according to a Washington’s Lottery spokesperson.
That includes winning lottery tickets sold in Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and other Washington cities.
Think you have a lucky lottery ticket? Here’s what to do next:
How much time do I have to claim my prize?
According to Washington’s Lottery, the amount of time you have to collect your lottery winnings depends on when the lottery drawing occurred.
The earlier the drawing, the sooner you’ll need to claim your prize.
“Winning players have 180 days from the drawing date to claim their prize,” lottery officials said in a Jan. 8 news release. “If the player won with a Scratch ticket, they have 180 days from the last day of ticket sales to claim their prize.”
Current claim dates for lucky Washington lottery tickets range from Jan. 19 to July 9.
Buy a lottery ticket in Tacoma? See unclaimed prizes
According to Washington’s Lottery, multiple winning lottery tickets sold in King County have yet to be claimed — many of them worth $10,000 or more.
For example, there is a $10,000 prize up for grabs in Tacoma.
The Match 4 ticket matched all four winning numbers — 5, 7, 12 and 21 — in the Oct. 24 drawing.
If this is your ticket, you have until April 22 to claim your prize, lottery officials said.
Winning lottery tickets sold in Seattle, Renton
Two Match 4 lottery tickets worth $10,000 were sold in Seattle, according to Washington’s Lottery.
One ticket matched the winning numbers 3, 9, 15 and 20 in the July 23 drawing, and must be claimed by Jan. 19.
The owner of a Match 4 ticket that matched the numbers 12, 20, 22 and 24, in the Dec. 24 drawing has until June 22 to claim their prize.
Two large Hit 5 lottery prizes are also for grabs in Seattle, lottery officials said.
A Hit 5 ticket that matched five numbers in the Jan. 9 drawing is worth $270,000 and must be claimed by July 8. The winning numbers were 15, 18, 31, 33 and 40.
A Hit 5 ticket worth $100,000 matched five numbers in the Jan. 10 drawing, with winnings available until July 9. The winning numbers were 3, 8, 20, 28 and 33.
Elsewhere in King County, a Match 4 ticket worth $10,000 was sold in Renton, according to Washington’s Lottery. The winner has until July 5 to claim that prize.
The winning numbers in the Jan. 6 drawing were 10, 12, 13 and 24.
Which lucky tickets were sold in Snohomish County?
In Snohomish County, lucky lottery players scored several unclaimed prizes, according to Washington’s Lottery.
Six Match 4 tickets sold in Lynnwood matched four numbers in the Nov. 26 drawing to win $10,000 each. The winning numbers were 6, 11, 16 and 20.
Those prizes are up for grabs until May 25 lottery officials said.
In Everett, a Match 4 ticket scored $10,000 in the Nov. 9 drawing, matching the winning numbers 1, 13, 21 and 22. The last day to claim that prize is May 8.
Additionally, a Match 4 ticket purchased in Lake Stevens won $10,000 in the Jan. 12 drawing. The winning numbers were 1, 14, 16 and 17.
The last day to claim that prize is July 11, according to lottery officials.
How can I claim my Washington lottery prize?
According to Washington’s Lottery, if your winning lottery ticket is worth less than $600, you can claim your prize at a participating retailer.
If you won more than $600, you must claim your prize at a regional lottery office.
According to lottery officials, you’ll need the following pieces of identification to collect your winnings:
- The winning ticket (sign the back)
- Picture identification
- Social Security card
What happens to the money if no one claims the prize?
What happens if you can’t claim your prize? Where does all that money go?
“We always want players to check their tickets and claim the prizes they’ve won,” Washington’s Lottery director Brian Bennett said in the Jan. 8 release. “When that doesn’t happen, those dollars still go on to do good by supporting local education and creating opportunities for students across Washington, which is something we’re really proud to be a part of.”
What are the odds of winning Match 4? Hit 5?
According to the Washington’s Lottery website, the odds of winning the Match 4 jackpot — $10,000 — are one in 10,600.
The odds of winning the cashpot in Hit 5 are in 851,000.
“Cashpots start at $100,000 and keep growing until someone matches all five numbers to win,” Washington’s Lottery said on its website.