Powerball Ticket Worth $1.5 Million Claimed Hours Before Expiration

The winning ticket was drawn on October 26, 2022

A $1.5 million lottery prize has been claimed in the nick of time!

On Monday, a claimant stepped forward asserting they had purchased winning ticket drawn on October 26, 2022, a representative for California Lottery told PEOPLE.

The move came with only hours to spare. The 180-day period to claim the winnings was set to expire when lotto offices closed at 5 p.m. local time — though the lotto official notes that winnings can be claimed via the mail, as long as it's postmarked before end of day.

That doesn't mean the claimant is necessarily the winner just yet. California Lottery will now start a thorough process to vet the authenticity of the claim. If all checks out, the person's name, per California law, will be made public.

It could take some time to get there, though. California Lottery processes over 10,000 winnings claims a month according to the representative. Results can take approximately eight weeks.

Related:Unclaimed Powerball Ticket Worth $1.5 Million Set to Expire: 'Time Is Running Out'

As for this drawing, the winning ticket — purchased at the Mobil gas station at 15380 Los Gatos Blvd. in Los Gatos (Santa Clara County) — was made up of the numbers 19-36-37-46-56, only missing the Powerball number.

Last week, California Lottery put out a press release reminding the winner to come forward.

"Days have turned into weeks, weeks have turned into months, and the California Lottery is still waiting for the player who bought a winning Powerball ticket in Los Gatos this past October to come forward," they wrote, noting at the time that they had "no way of knowing if it was a local resident who bought the lucky Powerball ticket, or if it was someone just passing through."

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Though most people who win the lottery do successfully come forward to claim their prizes, there are exceptions. According to a CNN article published in 2017, five of the then-384 jackpot winners of Powerball and MegaMillions games have failed to claim their prizes since 2003.

Unclaimed winnings go toward funding public education throughout the state. In fact, since 1985, California Lottery has given state public schools "more than $41 billion" thanks to unclaimed ticket winnings, their website notes.

Related:$2 Billion Powerball Winner Buys $26 Million L.A. Mansion Amid Lawsuit Over Winnings

Meanwhile, the winner of the California Lottery's record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot also took months to come forward. The winning numbers were pulled on the Nov. 7, 2022 drawing, but the winner — Edwin Castro — didn't come forward until Feb. 15.

His ultimate lump sum/cash value of the payout, which came out to $997.6 million. Lottery officials said 80 cents from every $2 Powerball ticket goes toward public education.

"California is blessed to have so many Lottery-made millionaires, including more than 140 last year alone," said Carolyn Becker, California Lottery spokesperson. "We often hear from our largest prize winners — including Edwin Castro — that they're thrilled to know their participation in our games ultimately benefits such a good cause and helps boost local economies throughout the state."

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