Somebody in Washington, Indiana bought a lottery ticket worth $35.5 million and, as of now, still doesn't know it. The winning Hoosier Lotto ticket, sold at a Casey's gas station along State Road 57, matched all six numbers drawn on September 2, but the prize remains unclaimed days later.
The numbers drawn were 15-16-22-24-43-44, according to WTHI-TV, and the ticket was purchased at the Casey's located at 1466 S.R. 57 in Washington. Hoosier Lottery Executive Director Sarah M. Taylor called the win a milestone moment for the game, saying, “This is an incredibly exciting moment for the Hoosier Lottery and for our players.”
Whoever bought that ticket now has a hard deadline hanging over their good fortune. Under Indiana law, specifically Indiana Code Section 4-30-11-7, draw game winners get exactly 180 days from the drawing date to come forward, which puts the cutoff at March 1, 2027. Miss that window, and the money gets folded back into the state lottery pool for future prizes, promotions, or surplus transfers. Anyone who thinks they might be holding the winning ticket can reach lottery officials directly at 800-955-6886.
A Jackpot More Than a Year in the Making
This didn't happen overnight. The $35.5 million prize built up over more than a year of twice-weekly drawings without a top-prize winner, according to the report. The last time anyone hit the Hoosier Lotto jackpot was August 16, 2025, when a $9.9 million ticket sold in Columbus, Indiana.
Getting there wasn't easy, either. A single Hoosier Lotto ticket costs $2, and players face odds of 1 in 9,366,819 of matching all six numbers for the grand prize, per Lottery USA. The game does offer better overall odds of 1 in 6 to win something at any prize tier, but the jackpot itself is a needle in a very large haystack.
Where It Ranks Among Indiana's Biggest Wins
The $35.5 million prize lands among the largest jackpots in Hoosier Lotto history, though it falls well short of the game's all-time record: a $54.5 million jackpot won on November 7, 2007. Other recent big hits include $44 million in December 2023 and a $42.5 million jackpot in March 2025, when a Perry County resident used a free ticket earned from a previous drawing to claim the prize at a convenience store in Tell City, according to WTHR. Hoodline covered that earlier win in a report on the fourth-largest jackpot ever at the time.
Heading into the September 2 drawing, the $35.5 million jackpot was actually the second-largest state-only lottery jackpot anywhere in the country, trailing only California's SuperLotto Plus. That distinction sets Hoosier Lotto apart from multi-state games like Powerball or Mega Millions, which pool prize money across many jurisdictions rather than staying contained to a single state.
What a Small Southern Indiana Town Stands to Gain
Washington, Indiana is the county seat of Daviess County, home to roughly 12,000 to 13,000 residents in a rural stretch of southwestern Indiana along State Road 57. It's the kind of small-town setting where a jackpot this size doesn't just change one household's life — it also boosts the local business that sold the ticket.
Under Hoosier Lottery policy, retailers that sell a jackpot-winning draw ticket receive a 1% bonus, capped at $100,000 per drawing event. That means the Casey's on State Road 57 stands to collect the maximum $100,000 bonus once the winner formally validates the prize. Retailers statewide already earned a combined $109.5 million in sales commissions and bonuses in fiscal year 2025, a reflection of how lucrative lottery sales can be for convenience stores across Indiana.
The broader numbers underline just how much lottery play moves through the state. The Hoosier Lottery pulled in roughly $1.7 billion in total ticket sales in fiscal year 2026, sending an estimated $350 million surplus to state public funds, according to Indiana Public Radio. By state statute, that money helps fund police and firefighter pensions, teacher retirement accounts, and motor vehicle excise tax relief.
For now, the ticket sits unclaimed, and the identity of the buyer remains unknown. It's also unclear whether the eventual winner will step forward as an individual or through a legal entity, as the 2025 Perry County winner did, and whether they'll choose a lump-sum cash payout or the 30-year annuity option. Until then, the clock keeps ticking toward March 1, 2027.
