A Mega Millions lottery ticket sold at a Shasta County gas station has won an estimated $1.22 billion in prize money, officials announced Friday.
The ticket was sold at Sunshine Food and Gas, 3505 Rhonda Road in Cottonwood, with winning numbers 3-7-37-49-55 − 6 MegaBall, 3x MegaPlier, the California Lottery announced. The identity of the new billionaire was not immediately known.
Jackpot winners can choose to receive their winnings in a series of payments over 30 years or as a one-time cash payment of approximately $549.7 million. Winners typically choose the cash option, lottery officials said.
The jackpot is the fifth-largest prize in Mega Millions history and comes at the end of a year when jackpot wins are unusually low, according to the lottery. As of Friday night, the jackpot had been won just three times in 2024, the lowest number of wins in a single year since the game began in 2002.
“Congratulations to California’s $1.22 billion jackpot winner,” Mega Millions Consortium Principal Director Joshua Johnston said in a statement. “What a great gift this holiday season!”
The $1.22 billion jackpot has been growing since Sept. 10, when a $810 million prize was won from a ticket sold at a gas station in Sugar Land, Texas. This is the seventh time the Mega Millions jackpot has exceeded $1 billion.
According to the lottery, all of the more than 6 billion jackpots to date have been won in different states: South Carolina in 2018, Michigan in 2021, Illinois in 2022, and Maine and Florida in 2023. , and March was in New Jersey. The game’s record $1.6 billion jackpot was won in Florida in 2023.
