Did You Win? $189K Missouri Prize Still Unclaimed

The search is on for a mystery person who now has $189,000 more than they had the day before, but this mystery person doesn't seem to know it yet.

Does this convenience store in the Kansas City, Missouri area look familiar to you?

This is the QuikTrip that's located at 6551 E. Front Street in Kansas City. According to the Missouri Lottery, someone stopped by this place on Friday, June 27, 2025 and picked up a Show Me Cash ticket. That ticket ended up being a $189,000 winner. There's only one tiny problem. The Missouri Lottery says this prize still has not been claimed as of this writing.

The good news is the lucky winner still has until Christmas Eve 2025 to come forward and claim their winnings. If they don't, the $189,000 prize goes into the Missouri Education Fund.

It's possible and perhaps even likely that the winner does know they struck it rich, but is getting all of their ducks in a row before going public with their winning ticket.

How much tax would be taken out of a $189,000 Missouri Lottery ticket?

According to a lottery ticket tax calculator, about $45,000 would be withheld, but that's still a take home amount of $144,000 (or so I'm told). It would also be important to remember that this is taxable income and would kick an individual into a higher tax bracket more than likely. That's probably sour grapes me trying to feel better about not being the mystery winner. Even with that tax reality, winning that kind of money would still be a lovely problem to have. Am I right?