A Mega Millions player in California, United States has won the estimated $1.22 billion jackpot on Friday night, bringing an end to the lottery’s three-month drought of grand prize winners.
The winning numbers were 3, 7, 37, 49, 55, and the gold Mega ball of 6. The fortunate ticketholder matched all six numbers, defying the 1 in 302,575,350 odds of securing the grand prize.
The winning ticket was sold at Sunshine Food and Gas in Cottonwood, located in northern California, 146 miles north of Sacramento.
The new billionaire now faces the choice of receiving the $1.22 billion jackpot in annual payments or opting for a one-time cash payout of approximately $549.7 million.
Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, expressed excitement over the win, saying, “What an amazing present this holiday season! At an incredibly special time of year, this is both an incredibly special moment for our winner and for all the great organizations and causes that benefit from lottery ticket sales around the country.”
This marks the 37th time a Mega Millions jackpot has been won in California, placing it behind only New York, which has had 44 wins.
Additionally, five players each won $1 million as Match 5 winners by matching all five white balls. These winners are from Arizona, Missouri, Texas, and two from California.
This is the fourth Mega Millions jackpot win of 2024, with the $1.22 billion prize now ranking as the fifth largest in the game’s history, surpassing the $1.12 billion drawn on March 26, 2024, at a ShopRite in Neptune, New Jersey.
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