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Nearly four months after a Mega Millions ticket worth $4.6 million was sold at a San Fernando Valley liquor store, the lucky winner still hasn’t come forward to claim their winnings — and time is running out.
The ticket matched five of the six winning numbers from the Aug. 8 Mega Millions draw, missing only the Mega numbers, according to the California Lottery.
The ticket was purchased at Spirits World Liquors, 18523 Burbank Blvd. in Tarzana.
As of Nov. 25, a lottery spokesperson told Patch that the winner still hasn’t come forward.
The winner must claim their prize by Feb. 4, 2026, or 180 days from the drawing based on lottery rules.
The winning numbers from Aug. 8 were 2, 6, 8, 14, 49 and 12 for the Mega Ball.
Lottery officials advise players to avoid throwing their tickets away until they’re scanned with the California Lottery App or at a retailer.
As an almost-cautionary tale, officials pointed to Joaquin Vaughn Redo, who in 2024 nearly threw his $1 million ticket away.
“I was actually kind of going to throw them away, because I said ‘I’ve never won the lottery,'” Redo told lottery officials.
Luckily, two weeks after buying his Mega Millions ticket, he decided to check it before tossing it in the bin: The ticket was worth $1.02 million.
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