Someone who purchased a winning lottery ticket near Houston last summer has until Wednesday afternoon to claim their $1 million prize.
The Texas Lottery Commission said the "quick pick" ticket purchased at Fuel Maxx #47, located at 420 University Dr. in Prairie View, matched all five of the white-ball numbers drawn during the Mega Millions drawing on July 29 – 13, 36, 45, 57 and 67 – but not the gold Mega Ball number, 14. The ticket is worth $1 million, according to the lottery commission, but only if the prize is claimed by 5 p.m. Central time Wednesday, which represents the lottery's 180-day claim deadline from the time of the drawing.
"We encourage our Mega Millions players to take one more look at their tickets from the July 29 drawing," Texas Lottery executive director Gary Grief said in a news release. "Check the numbers again, and if your numbers match, sign the back of the ticket and make plans to claim your prize at a Texas Lottery claim center before Wednesday's deadline."
Because of the high value of the winning ticket, the prize must be claimed at a Texas Lottery claim center or the agency's Austin headquarters and not at a lottery retailer, such as the convenience store where the ticket was purchased. The claim center in Houston is located at 1919 N. Loop W. Suite 100, with a complete list of lottery claim centers available online.
The ticket holder also can claim the prize by mail. The signed winning ticket, along with a Texas Lottery claim form, must be postmarked on or before 5 p.m. Wednesday and mailed to Texas Lottery Commission, ATTN: Austin Claim Center, PO Box 16600, Austin, TX 78761-6600.
It can take up to 8-12 weeks for mail-in claims to be processed, according to the lottery commission.
Unclaimed prizes revert back to the state to be used for programs authorized by the Texas Legislature, the lottery commission said.
Another $1 million prize from the same July 29 drawing was recently claimed by a resident of Plano, according to the lottery commission, which said the winner chose to remain anonymous.
The Prairie View store that sold a winning ticket is located just south of U.S. 290, near Prairie View A&M University. It is about 40 miles away from the lottery's Houston claim center.
