MELBOURNE BEACH, Fla. – The excitement may have died down but the person who purchased a historic winning Powerball ticket in Melbourne Beach still has yet to step forward to claim their share of the coveted prize.
That means time may be slowly sipping away for the mystery winner to pocket the $528 million jackpot.
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The ticket, one of three to split the $1.5 billion prize, was purchased at a Publix Supermarket in the days leading up to the Jan. 13 drawing.
“It’s still unclaimed,” Florida Lottery spokeswoman Shelly Gerteisen told News 6 partner Florida Today.
“We’re kind of guessing along with everyone else. It is not unusual, however, for this amount of money, for the winner to get their affairs in order, or seek an attorney. It’s a life changing amount of money, so (the winner) just may be seeking legal counsel or maybe waiting for media interest to die down,” she said. That includes, estate planning or meeting with financial advisors.
Officials also say that, despite the media frenzy that followed, it very well may also be that the person or persons may not know he or she won the prize.
The Melbourne Beach winner, once they step forward, will share the top prize with two other winners, one that was claimed by a Tennessee resident and one that remains unclaimed in California.
The winning numbers were 4-8-19-27-34 and Powerball 10.
State lottery officials recalled that a similar situation happened with one substantial prize, with the winner in that case waiting a full six weeks before claiming the jackpot.
However, if the winner of the Powerball waits too long, they may end up changing just how they will receive their earnings.
“The winner has to come forward within 60 days to get the cash. After that, you would default to an annuity. They also have a total of 180 days to claim the prize,” Gerteisen said, adding that the winner would receive $7.9 million the first year with 30 annual payments to follow.
A lump sum offering as part of the cash option would leave the winner with $328 million after taxes.