The Iowa Lottery saw the rare occurrence Wednesday of the deadline running out and a one million dollar prize went unclaimed. Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, says they waited right up to the end of the business day to see if the unknown winner would show.

The winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at an Ames convenience store one year ago. Neubauer says they did get a few calls before the deadline from people hoping they might be the winner.

She says the fate of the one million-dollar ticket may never be known. And says it’s rare that such a large prize goes unclaimed.

The unclaimed money goes back into the prize pool and Neubauer says the Lottery is working on a plan to give it away.

Neubauer says they are working on the details of the holiday promotion and will announce them once they are finalized.