DALLAS — There is a piece of paper out there in the world worth $1 million.
Texas Lottery officials have announced that a winning Powerball "Quick Pick" ticket from October will expire on April 20, if someone doesn't come forward to claim the prize.
The ticket was sold at the Tiger Mart at 3070 N.E. Loop 286 in Paris -- that's Texas, y'all -- in Lamar County. Paris is located about 100 miles northeast of Dallas.
The ticket was a "second-tier" winner -- if you could call $1 million "second-tier" -- in the Oct. 22 Powerball drawing. The ticket matched all five white ball numbers in the drawing: 19-25-48-55-60. But it couldn't match the Powerball number 18 for the big prize.
According to Texas Lottery officials, this winning ticket is "the only active Texas Lottery draw game ticket worth $1 million or more that is yet to be claimed."
What happens if the prize is unclaimed by the deadline?
Lottery officials said the deadline to claim the prize is Thursday, April 20, at 5 p.m., which is 180 days after the drawing.
There is a way the ticket could be claimed past the deadline (technically). Mail-in claims will take about 8-12 weeks to get processed, but as long as you postmark your million-dollar mail by April 20, you'll be good. So, if the ticket is postmarked, the claim center receives it in the mail past the deadline.
If the ticket does end up unclaimed, here is what happens to the prize money, per Texas Lottery officials:
"Unclaimed prizes revert back to the state for programs authorized by the Texas Legislature, including the Foundation School Fund and Fund for Veterans’ Assistance, which are the primary beneficiaries of the Texas Lottery. Government Code 466.408 sets forth the use of unclaimed prize money. If the $1 million Powerball prize remains unclaimed, it will be distributed to the Foundation School Fund."
Do you have the ticket? Here is how to claim it.
If its yours, you can claim your prize at a lottery claim center, listed here, or by a letter sent to the Texas Lottery Commission: Austin Claim Center PO Box 16600, Austin, TX, 78761-6600.
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NOTE: The following video was uploaded in January 2023.