Deadline Looms As $1.34 Billion Mega Millions Jackpot Still Unclaimed

DES PLAINES, IL — It’s been over a month since a lucky lottery player won the $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot after buying a ticket at a Speedway in Des Plaines, but the winner still has not come forward.

The millionaire remains a mystery, according to NBC 5 Chicago, and the deadline for the winner to choose how to receive the prize is looming.

While the jackpot ticketholder has one year from the date of the draw to claim the prize, they only have 60 days to choose between a cash option or annual payments. The winning ticket was sold July 29, so the lucky player has until Sept. 27 to make a decision or the lottery will default to annuity payments, according to the Illinois Lottery Winners’ Handbook.

“For a prize of this magnitude, it’s not unusual for the winner to take a while to claim,” Illinois Lottery Director Harold Mays said in an August news release. “I’m sure they’re going through a range of emotions.”

With an estimated cash payout of $747.2 million, the jackpot is the largest lottery prize ever won in Illinois, and the third-largest won in the country.