LA's $23 Million Lotto Winner Still Hasn't Claimed The Jackpot

WOODLAND HILLS, CA — If you bought a lottery ticket recently, you might want to check your numbers. A lucky SuperLotto Plus winner, who bought a ticket worth $23 million in Los Angeles, has yet to claim the prize.

As of Friday, California Lottery offices had received no verified claim, said spokeswoman Donna Cordova. The winning ticket was sold at a smoke shop in Woodland Hills, and it hit the jackpot in Wednesday's draw. The winner has just 180 days to claim the money.

For a cautionary tale about failing to check lottery numbers, you don't have to go far. The largest California Lottery jackpot ever forfeited was purchased for the Aug. 8, 2015, drawing at the 7-Eleven store at 20871 Lassen St. in Chatsworth. That $63 million jackpot was never collected. A local man, who made an made an unsubstantiated claim on the winnings, sued the California Lottery and lost. This week, a judge ordered him to pay the state's 260,000 attorneys' fees.

The winning ticket matched all six numbers — 36, 40, 27, 35, 34 and Mega number 13. It was purchased at the NJ Smoke Shop at 21773 Ventura Blvd. The last SuperLotto Plus jackpot win was on Aug. 31. Coincidentally, that ticket was purchased in Woodland, in Northern California's Yolo County.

The 180 day-clock starts ticking down from the date of the draw. The winner must submit a claim to be verified by the California Lottery's Security and Law Enforcement Division. If the ticket holder chooses the lump sum cash value amount, he or she is looking at an estimated $15.9 million windfall, before federal taxes.

NJ Smoke Shop will collect a retailer bonus of $115,000 for selling the winning ticket.

City News Service contributed to this report.