Illinois calls on players to claim near-expiry prizes, with $1.5m+ on the line

• Illinois Lottery wants you to start checking your lottery tickets from a year ago and see if you aren’t due for a six-figure payout
• The lottery has announced five tickets with prizes of over $1.5m that are to be claimed through November, December and January
• Unclaimed prizes are a fairly frequent sight, with the Illinois Lottery constantly urging players to be more responsible with their tickets

The Illinois Lottery has launched a new appeal encouraging players to check theirLucky Day Lotto tickets, with a ticket worth $250,000 now set to expire, the lottery explained.

Illinois Lottery tickets unclaimed - lottery urges action on part of players

Bought nearly a year ago on November 7, 2025, at the BP gas station located at 10300 S. Torrence Ave. in Chicago, the Lucky Day Lotto ticket will be forfeited unless the owner steps forward to present the slip and claim the six-figure prize.

However, the $250,000 ticket is just one of several set to expire through the end of January 2027. Another two tickets will expire within days of each other, and both were won on the Powerball on December 15 and December 17, 2025.

Both are worth $200,000 and were bought at Hy-Vee, 2115 S. MacArthur Blvd. Springfield, Illinois, and Jays Unlimited Liquor, 2900 Ogden Ave., Aurora, Illinois, respectively.

Another huge ticket is set to expire on January 23, 2026, with $700,000 from the Lucky Day Lotto, bought from the Shell at 5201 N. Western Ave. Chicago, Illinois, and yet another one set for a day after - January 24, 2026- with the ticket purchased at Exxon, 3831 W. 95th St., Evergreen Park, Illinois. The ticket is worth $150,000.

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