SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Buy holiday gifts. Check. Make New Year's resolutions. Check. Review old Illinois Lottery tickets?
State officials are urging people who regularly play the Illinois Lottery to check junk drawers, glove compartments, unused purses and old wallets to make sure they're not holding one of 77 unclaimed prizes totaling $2.4 million from 2011.
Winning tickets are no longer valid if not collected within a year of drawing. The first of the unclaimed winnings from 2011 expires Jan. 4.
Five Mega Millions tickets worth $250,000 each remain unclaimed. They were purchased at retailers in Bolingbrook, Herrin, Decatur, Crete and DeKalb.
Four Powerball second-place tickets valued at $200,000 apiece and bought at locations in Lombard, Round Lake Park, Westchester and Chicago were never collected.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
