DENVER -- Will the winner of a $4.6 million Colorado Lottery jackpot please come forward?

On Dec. 5, a 180-day period ends for the holder of the winning ticket to claim the jackpot, according to state law.

The person who won the Lotto prize -- actually worth $4,586,487 -- bought it on June 8 in Arvada but it's not known which store sold the ticket until the person comes forward.

If no one claims the money by that Monday by 5 p.m., the $2.3 million cash value of the jackpot will be divvied up by agencies that receive lottery proceeds, such as Great Outdoors Colorado. The money also will go to the state Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, the Conservation Trust Fund and, if revenues allow, to school health and safety projects, Colorado Lottery spokeswoman Kristen Shew said.

Thirteen jackpots worth $34.3 million have gone unclaimed since the first Lottery drawing in 1989, Shew said. Including other lottery games of Powerball, Cash 5 and scratch tickets, $98 million in prizes has gone unclaimed since Jan. 24, 1983.

"It's not unheard of. In 1992 we had a $7 million winner -- a jackpot that went unclaimed," said Colorado Lottery spokesman Tom Cargal. "We love to have winners in Colorado and we know we have a winner with this. And we want people to check their tickets and come in and make that claim."

Earlier this week, Powerball officials said that someone who won $853,492 in a Powerball drawing a month ago still has not come forward. That winning ticket was sold in Littleton on Oct. 19. The winner had matched all five numbers but missed the Powerball number.

The Colorado Lottery is required to pay at least half of total game sales to players as prizes. The lottery currently returns about 57 percent of sales as prizes, Shew said.

Additional Resources:

ColoradoLottery.com
Powerball.com/