Unclaimed lottery tickets worth $1 million each sold in Ballantyne, University City

Two lottery players in the Charlotte area just became millionaires and may not know it.

The North Carolina Education Lottery reports two winning tickets were sold at convenience stores in Charlotte, and they’re worth a combined $2.1 million, according to a news release.

Each of the players will get $1,054,439, officials said. (That’s before paying federal and state taxes are taken out.)

So far, no one has stepped forward for the cash. Winners have 180 days to claim prizes, or else the cash is forfeit back into the game.

The $1 tickets were in the Carolina Cash 5 game, and the winners had to match five numbers, officials said.

“Both tickets matched the numbers on all five balls, 3-5-34-40-41,” lottery officials said. “The record-high jackpot marked the first time a Cash 5 jackpot estimate reached over $2 million.”

The odds of hitting jackpots in Cash 5 are 1 in 962,598, according to the lottery’s website.

Both tickets were sold at Circle K stores. However, they are located at opposite ends of the city. One is on University Boulevard in north Charlotte and the other on John J. Delaney Drive in the Ballantyne area.