Henita May / CC
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO.com) — You could call this a case of, “what might have been” for someone who bought a winning Powerball lottery ticket in South Dakota.
The $100,000 ticket was purchased for a drawing last December and matched enough numbers to win a six-figure prize.
But there was one big problem.
The holder of that ticket never came forward by last week’s 180-day deadline to claim their prize, so they lost out on the money, every last penny of it.
Someone bought the winning ticket at the Total Stop Foods in Canistota on Dec. 11, 2021.
South Dakota Lottery spokesman Wade LaRoche was asked where that $100,000 in prize money goes now into next fiscal year’s prize fund.
He says it’s not unusual for smaller prize amounts to go unclaimed, but a six-figure one is a different story. It’s rare, LaRoche says.
LaRoche has this advice for lottery players: Always store your tickets in a safe place, scan to see if you won, and sign the back of the ticket immediately to show proof it is yours.
He also says you might want to talk to a financial advisor before turning in your six or seven or eight figures winning ticket.
(Mike Tanner, KWAT, contributed this report.)
