Someone hit a $10M lottery jackpot in Maryland — but missed deadline to claim prize

A lottery prize in Maryland made history for being the largest sum in the state to go unclaimed by its winner.

The unlucky winner purchased the winning Powerball Double Play ticket at an Exxon location in Rockville on Sept. 27, the Maryland Lottery said in a news release.

Whoever purchased the ticket had 182 days from the date the ticket was sold to claim their prize, the release said.

But when March 28 rolled around, the winner of the prize was still unknown, and the cash remained unclaimed despite attempts from lottery officials and the manager of the Exxon location to advertise that the prize was unclaimed, WTOP reported.

It’s rare for such large prizes to go unclaimed, lottery spokesman Seth Elkin told Bethesda Beat.

“It happens very infrequently with a big winner,” Elkin told the outlet. ”By far, most of the unclaimed prizes that occur are for much smaller amounts.”

And past unclaimed prizes have never been more than $1 million, Carole Gentry, the director of communications for Maryland Lottery and Gaming, told WTOP.

The money will go into the state’s unclaimed prize fund and will be used for future lottery prizes, FOX 5 reported.

The Exxon location where the winning ticket was sold will receive a $10,000 bonus, the Maryland Lottery said.

This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Someone hit a $10M lottery jackpot in Maryland — but missed deadline to claim prize."