Lottery officials say two big Powerball prizes, from tickets purchased in the same eastern Iowa town, have gone unclaimed for several months. Iowa Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer says one ticket, worth $1 million, was purchased at a Kum & Go in Tipton last November. A $10,000 winning ticket was purchased at the Family Food grocery store in Tipton in January. “It’s unusual for there to be one big unclaimed prize in a community and Tipton has two. It’s a community of 3,200, so we’re trying to figure out what’s going on over there,” Neubauer said.
Officials held a news conference at the Kum & Go in Tipton late this morning to remind people who may have bought a Powerball ticket in the town to check their old tickets. “As more time goes on, we’re always afraid that it becomes less likely that these prizes would be claimed just because it becomes less likely that someone would have held on to a ticket that long,” Neubauer said. Powerball prizes must be claimed within 365 days of the drawing for which they were eligible.
It’s possible the winner of the $1 million prize in Tipton could be revealed soon. “We received a call just this week that seemed pretty credible about that $1 million unclaimed prize,” Neubauer said. “But, nothing will be known for sure until a winning ticket is presented and confirmed at lottery headquarters.”
In addition to the unclaimed prizes in Tipton, there are three other Iowa Lottery prizes of $10,000 or more that remain unclaimed across the state. Those lottery tickets were purchased in Coggon, Iowa City, and Des Moines.