ປີ້ 1 ລ້ານລ້ານລ້ານໂດລາ ກຳລັງຈະໝົດອາຍຸ

It looks like a Mega Millions player is about to join the ranks of lottery winners who end up missing out on a windfall.

A ticket purchased in Lewisville, North Carolina, and worth $1 million will expire Thursday at 5 p.m. The amount is a second-tier prize for matching five out of the six numbers that were pulled in the lottery game’s Dec. 31 drawing.

“Sometimes people leave their tickets in a night stand, the glove compartment of their cars and trucks, or tucked away in a wallet,” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the state’s lottery.

“Check any Mega Millions tickets you have to see if you have the one from this drawing that won a $1 million prize,” Michalko said.

The current Mega Millions jackpot is an estimated $360 million for Friday night’s drawing and Powerball’s top prize for Wednesday night’s pull is $365 million, making unclaimed lower-tier prizes pale in comparison.

Yet even some jackpot prizes have also gone unclaimed by their winners over the years in both national lotteries.

They range from a $16.5 million prize (one-third of a $50 million jackpot split three ways) from a ticket purchased in Florida in 2013 to a $77.1 million prize from a ticket purchased in Georgia in 2011. And several months ago in Maryland, a $10 million ticket won in Powerball’s “Double Play” feature expired.

Beyond the top prizes or second-tier prizes, there are lesser amounts that also can end up unclaimed, whether due to loss of a ticket, forgetting to review the winning numbers or other mishaps.

On top of the multistate games, there are state-specific lotteries with prizes that never make it into the hands of winners.

ຕົວຢ່າງເຊັ່ນ, ໃນຄາລິຟໍເນຍໃນປີ 2016, ບໍ່ມີໃຜມາຂ້າງຫນ້າກັບປີ້ຊະນະສໍາລັບລາງວັນຫວຍດຽວທີ່ມີມູນຄ່າ 63 ລ້ານໂດລາ.

ແຕ່ລະລັດທີ່ເຂົ້າຮ່ວມ Powerball ແລະ Mega Millions ມີກົດລະບຽບຂອງຕົນເອງວ່າຜູ້ຊະນະຈະໄດ້ຮັບລາງວັນດົນປານໃດ. ບາງຄົນອະນຸຍາດໃຫ້ສາມຫຼືຫົກເດືອນ, ໃນຂະນະທີ່ຄົນອື່ນໃຫ້ຫນຶ່ງປີເຕັມຈາກວັນທີແຕ້ມຮູບ.

ດັ່ງນັ້ນຈະເກີດຫຍັງຂຶ້ນກັບການຊະນະທີ່ບໍ່ໄດ້ອ້າງສິດເຫຼົ່ານັ້ນ? ໂດຍທົ່ວໄປແລ້ວ, ເງິນກັບຄືນສູ່ລັດທີ່ຂາຍປີ້.

And from there, it depends on the state’s rules. In some places, the funds go back to players in the form of bonus prizes or second-chance contests. In other jurisdictions, the unclaimed amounts also may go toward specific purposes such as education funding.

The chance of winning the Mega Millions jackpot is 1 in about 302 million. For Powerball, it’s 1 in 292 million. And for the expiring $1 million ticket, the winner’s odds of matching the five white balls were 1 in 12.6 million.