BATON ROUGE - Time is running short for the person holding a $5,000 winning Louisiana lottery ticket to get the prize.
 
The Louisiana Lottery Corp. said Thursday that no one has stepped up to claim the Mega Millions prize won during a June 9 drawing. That winning lottery ticket was purchased at the Tiger Truck Stop in Gross Tete.
 
Winners have to come forward within 180 days after a drawing. The prize will expire Dec. 6 at 5 p.m.
 
Lottery President Rose Hudson said the winner should sign the back of the ticket "for security purposes" until turning it in for the $5,000 in winnings.
 
If no one claims the money, the dollars are deposited into an unclaimed prize fund, which is used to boost payouts on scratch-off games and player promotions.