A huge VA Lottery prize could slip out of someone’s hands if they don’t step forward by 5 p.m. Monday. Lottery officials put out an expiring ticket alert on Sept. 7 because someone is on the verge of missing out on a $258,000 jackpot.
So, let’s get to the information you need right away to check your old tickets:
- The winner is a Cash 5 with EZ Match ticket.
- It was purchased for the March 16 drawing.
- The customer bought the ticket at Giant Food Store at 317 Worth Avenue in Stafford, VA.
- Winning numbers are 10–21–27–29 and 38.
If you have the ticket, contact the Virginia Lottery immediately or present the winning ticket at a lottery customer service center or prize zone.
Each state handles unclaimed lottery prizes differently. In Virginia, players have 180 days to turn in their win.
How to play Cash 5
For Cash 5, VA Lottery players just need to go 5-for-5 like the March 16 ticket did.
Balls are numbered 1-41 and drawings are held daily. The Giant Food customer in Stafford beat 1-in-749,398 odds when he or she hit the jackpot.
Always check your tickets for smaller wins as well. Cash 5 odds and prizes are:
- 5 balls — Jackpot
- 4 balls (1 in 4,163) — $200
- 3 balls (1 in 119) — $5
- 2 balls (1 in 10.5) — $1
Cash 5 jackpots build, then reset to a $100,000 starting point with every win.
Players also can spend an extra dollar for EZ Match, which is a game within the Cash 5 game.
For another $1, players get a random set of five numbers. Players win instantly if any of their five EZ Match numbers match any of the Cash 5 numbers.
With EZ Match, any one number that matches a number in your Cash 5 play is a win. Then, a prize from below is randomly selected and assigned to you as the cashier hands you the ticket:
- $500 — 1-in-84,000 odds
- $250 — 1 in 42,000
- $100 — 1 in 12,000
- $50 — 1 in 4,200
- $20 — 1 in 1,680
- $15 — 1 in 1,050
- $10 — 1 in 112
- $5 — 1 in 280
- $4 — 1 in 76
- $3 — 1 in 13.6
- $2 — 1 in 9.4
Any unclaimed VA Lottery prize goes to education
Virginia uses unclaimed wins for a Literary Fund to back low-interest loans for technology upgrades, school construction and renovations. It adds up. Since 1988, the Virginia Lottery transferred more than $320 million in unclaimed winnings to the fund.
