Unidentified lottery ticket winner set to lose out on $2.9 million jackpot as ticket expires today

A very unlucky lottery winner could be about to lose their $2.9 million winnings.

Winning the lottery is the dream of... well, basically anyone who has ever had to deal with money issues.

Now the odds of actually winning the jackpot or hefty sums is ridiculously small, but all the same, you have got to buy a ticket to be in a chance of winning.

Harvard statistics professor Dr. Mark Glickman previously told CNBC Make It that there is just one proven way of boosting your chances of winning - and to be honest, it's pretty obvious.

One unidentified Mega Millions ticket winner could be about to lose their $2.9 million jackpot. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

So, the only way of improving your chances is by buying more tickets for each game.

That is because the odds remain the same if you buy just one ticket for a game, no matter what numbers you may decide on.

If you are lucky enough to ever have a winning ticket that guarantees you millions of dollars you would think the ticket would be cashed in as soon as possible.

But one unidentified Mega Millions ticket winner could be about to lose their $2.9 million jackpot.

A winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased in Los Angeles in 2023, but is set to expire at 5pm today (June 7).

If the person doesn’t come forward, they essentially lose out on the whopping $2,941,708 they are due for.

The ticket holder must visit one of the California State Lottery’s nine offices by the deadline to claim their prize or their ticket will be considered invalid.

The unidentified winner purchased the ticket December 12, drawing last year at the SK gas station at 11280 National Boulevard in Los Angeles.

California Lottery rules state that any Mega Millions winners with five numbers have 180 days from the draw date to claim their winnings.

California Lottery rules state that any Mega Millions winners with five numbers have 180 days from the draw date to claim their winnings.(Getty Stock Image)

The state lottery is encouraging all players to double check they haven’t been sitting on the winning ticket all this time.

I’d be double checking any and all lottery tickets because there can be no greater misfortune than realizing you could have been a millionaire if you had done something as simple as checking your ticket.

The winning ticket matched the numbers 8, 23, 44, 45, and 53. It missed out on the big jackpot by only one number — Mega Number 3.

But on a slightly bright side, if the claim is not submitted that $2.9 million will go to public schools in California.