Need some extra cash? Check your lottery tickets

As lottery players the nation over dream of a $700 million Powerball golden ticket tonight, more than $300,000 in Kansas lotto winnings from the past year remain unclaimed.

Four unclaimed winning Powerball tickets worth $50,000 each sold in Kansas between Sept. 3 and July 26 represent most of the $317,509 in prize money waiting to be declared, according to Kansas Lottery records.

Available in 44 states, Powerball is one of the most-played lottery games in the U.S. The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing is expected to be about $700 million – the second-biggest pot in the game’s history.

While some players have clearly dropped the ball when it comes to their winnings, Kansans aren’t shy about buying lottery tickets. Last fiscal year – July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017 – people spent more than $272 million dollars on lotto tickets in the Sunflower State.

Prizes totaled nearly $150 million, according to Kansas Lottery officials. It’s the unclaimed prizes – which expire one year after their drawing date – that have the ability to turn a potential dream scenario into a nightmare.

For example, one Powerball player bought a ticket worth $50,000 in northeast Kansas (the state doesn’t release exact locations where the tickets were sold) on Sept. 3, 2016. If the prize isn’t claimed in the next couple of weeks, the ticket will be worthless.

In all, 26 prizes remained unclaimed as of Wednesday, including five Powerball tickets worth $50,000 each and a “Hot Lotto” ticket worth $30,000 that was sold in south-central Kansas.

A pair of “2 By 2” tickets – both sold in February in northeast Kansas – worth $22,000 each also remain unclaimed.

Eight unclaimed winning tickets that were sold in south-central Kansas between Dec. 21 and Monday are worth a combined $50,258, according lottery records.

Kansas lottery spokeswoman Sally Lunsford said it’s rare that such large prizes go unclaimed through their expiration date, though a Powerball ticket sold in the southwest part of the state worth $1 million went unclaimed several years ago. The drawing date for that unclaimed ticket was Jan. 26, 2013, Lunsford said.

Prize money that goes unclaimed, Lunsford said, remains in the state’s lottery fund to go toward future prizes. For a complete list of all unclaimed winning Kansas Lottery tickets, visit the state’s website here.

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Need some extra cash? Check your lottery tickets."