A Mega Millions ticket sold at a Shasta County gas station on Friday won a massive jackpot estimated at $1.22 billion, officials said.
The California Lottery announced that the winning numbers for this ticket, sold at Sunshine Food and Gas at 3505 Rhonda Road in Cottonwood, were 3-7-37-49-55 − 6 MegaBall with 3x MegaPlier. The identity of the new billionaire is unclear.
Jackpot winners can choose to receive their prize through a range of payment methods over 30 years, or they can choose to receive a one-time cash payment of approximately $549.7 million. Winners typically choose cash, according to lottery officials.
The jackpot is the fifth-largest in Mega Millions history, according to the lottery, and is awarded at the end of the year when there are unusually few jackpot winners. Before Friday night, just three jackpots had been won in 2024, the fewest wins in a single year since the game began in 2002.
“Congratulations to the winner of the $1.22 billion jackpot from California,” Joshua Johnston, lead director of the Mega Millions syndicate, said in a statement. “What a great gift for this holiday season!”
The $1.22 billion jackpot has been growing since Sept. 10, when a player won $810 million from a ticket sold at a gas station in Sugar Land, Texas. This marks the seventh time the Mega Millions jackpot has topped the $1 billion mark.
Lottery shows that previous jackpots of more than $6 billion were won in different states: South Carolina in 2018, Michigan in 2021, Illinois in 2022, Maine and Florida in 2023, and New Jersey in March. The game’s record $1.6 billion jackpot was won in Florida in 2023.
