The 365-Day Clock Is Ticking on Two Six-Figure Wins
Two $100,000 prizes from Kansas lottery drawings remain unclaimed, with the deadline for the January 2026 winner approaching. According to the Kansas Lottery, winners of draw game tickets have exactly 365 days from the date of the drawing to claim their prizes. This creates a hard deadline for the two specific $100,000 tickets currently listed on the unclaimed prize inventory: one from the Holiday Millionaire Raffle on January 4, 2026, and another from a Powerball drawing on October 31, 2026.
As of November 2, more than 60 unclaimed prizes worth at least $5,000 remain on the Kansas Lottery list. The two $100,000 prizes are the largest amounts currently waiting for collection. The January 4, 2026, prize is associated with the South Central Kansas region of the Holiday Millionaire Raffle. The October 31, 2026, prize is from a Powerball drawing in Southwest Kansas. Because the claim window is strictly tied to the drawing date, the January prize has a shorter remaining time to claim compared to the October prize, which will remain valid until October 31, 2027.
How to Claim Prizes Over $600
Winners must submit their claim either by mail or in person. The process begins with the completion of a claim form, which is available on the Kansas Lottery website or at the lottery office. This form must be mailed in with the original winning ticket.
The location of the claim is dictated by the prize amount. Retail prizes starting at $600 require submission at the Topeka headquarters. This rule applies to the two $100,000 prizes in question. Winners of prizes up to $5,000 can receive their check the same day they claim their prize at the office. However, for prizes over $5,000, such as the $100,000 tickets, the payout structure differs. Winners can pick up the check later or have it mailed to them, a process that typically takes about a week.
Tax Withholding and Verification
When claiming these larger prizes, the Kansas Lottery will withhold mandatory taxes from the gross prize amount. For prizes of this size, the lottery withholds 24% for federal tax and 5% for state tax. Lottery officials note that a winner’s ultimate tax liability may be greater or lesser than the amounts withheld. Winners will receive a W2-G form the following year to file with their taxes, which allows for any final adjustments to be made during the tax filing period.
Verification of the ticket is a critical step in this process. The Kansas Lottery does not reveal the retailers that sold winning tickets until after the prizes have been claimed. This policy protects the privacy of the purchase location until the winner has secured the funds. The unclaimed list is public, but the specific store details are withheld. This means that while the public can see that a $100,000 Powerball ticket was sold in Southwest Kansas on October 31, 2026, they cannot know which specific shop sold it until the prize is claimed.
Context Within the Broader Unclaimed List
The two $100,000 prizes are the top items on a list that includes several other significant wins. Other unclaimed prizes worth at least $5,000 include four Powerball wins of $50,000 each. These were drawn on March 2, 2026, in Northeast Kansas; May 2, 2026, in Northeast Kansas; September 28, 2026, in Northeast Kansas; and October 31, 2026, in Southwest Kansas. There is also a $22,000 prize from a “2 by 2” drawing on May 22, 2026, in Northeast Kansas, and a $5,000 prize from the January 4, 2026, Holiday Millionaire Raffle in Southeast Kansas.
The presence of multiple $50,000 Powerball prizes on the list highlights the volume of mid-tier jackpots that go unclaimed. In total, the list as of November 2 contains more than 60 prizes valued at $5,000 or more. The draw games included in this inventory are Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto America, Lucky for Life, and the Holiday Millionaire Raffle. The consistency of the claim rules across these games ensures that the 365-day window applies uniformly, regardless of the specific game played.
Verifying Tickets Online
For players who suspect they may hold an unclaimed ticket, the Kansas Lottery provides a full list of unclaimed prizes on its website. This list is the primary resource for checking whether a specific ticket number or drawing date corresponds to an unclaimed prize. The list details the game, the drawing date, the region of the state where the ticket was sold, and the prize amount.
While the list does not include retailer names, it provides enough detail for a player to cross-reference their ticket. If a player finds a matching entry, they can proceed to the claiming process in Topeka. The online list is updated regularly, reflecting the current state of unclaimed prizes. This transparency allows for the identification of potential winners who may have forgotten to check their tickets or who purchased tickets for others and did not follow up. The availability of this data is a key part of the lottery’s effort to ensure prizes are distributed to their rightful owners before the 365-day deadline expires.
The two $100,000 prizes represent the highest stakes in the current unclaimed inventory. The January 2026 prize is the most urgent, as its claim window closes first. The October 2026 prize has a full year remaining. Both require the same administrative steps: completing the claim form, submitting the physical ticket, and waiting for the tax-withheld check. The process is straightforward but requires attention to the specific deadlines tied to each drawing date.
Sources
- Mega Millions
- Winner claims massive Canada lotto prize hours before expiration – AOL
- Lottery ticket worth W2b sits unclaimed a year later at Namyangju shop – The Herald Business
- Winner claims massive Canada lotto prize hours before expiration
- 4 NT$10 million prizes remain unclaimed in May-June invoice lottery – Focus Taiwan
- Here are the biggest unclaimed lottery prizes in Kansas (two are worth $100K)
Photo: Santeri Viinamäki (CC BY-SA 4.0)
