A lucky lottery player holds the winning ticket from Friday night’s drawing for the $1.22 billion Mega Millions jackpot sold in Shasta County in Northern California.
A winning ticket sold at the Sunshine Food and Gas Market in Cottonwood means a fine finish to the winner’s 2024 as the Mega Millions jackpot, estimated at $1.22 billion, has a cash option payout of $549.7 million, according to the lottery.
The identity of the winner has not yet been revealed.
The winning of the fifth-largest Mega Millions jackpot in history comes in a year that had seen the least amount of jackpot winners in a calendar year, with only three jackpot winners so far. The last one was in Texas on Sept. 10, when a lucky person won a $552 million jackpot.
Friday’s drawing also yielded five $1 million winners, the lottery said.
“Congratulations to our $1.22 billion jackpot winner from California,” said Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, in a press release. “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. Thank you to everyone who plays. Because of you, we have winners all around the country taking home cash prizes both big and small, and we have educational causes, parks and many other great organizations benefiting as well.”
Here is the other information about Friday’s drawing.
Did anyone win the Mega Millions?
Yes, a winning ticket for the $1.22 billion jackpot was sold in Cottonwood, a town of about 6,300 located 20 miles south of Redding.
The ticket was purchased at Sunshine Food and Gas at 3505 Rhonda Road, according to the California Lottery.
To view the list of past winners, visit the Mega Millions website.
Mega Millions winning numbers for 12/27/24
The winning numbers from the Friday, Dec. 27 Mega Millions drawing were white ball numbers 3, 7, 37, 49 and 55, plus the gold Mega Ball 6 and a multiplier of 3X, the lottery said.
Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network.
Were there other big winners in the Mega Millions drawing?
Two additional tickets sold in California were also winners, earning second-place prizes of $787,543 for matching five out of the six numbers. The tickets were sold at:
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Cardenas Market in San Bernardino
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A Chevron station in Roseville
What did the store owners who sold the winning Mega Millions ticket have to say?
The lucky Mega Millions ticket buyer wasn’t the only one celebrating. Ishar Gill and his family, owners of the Sunshine Food and Gas market, were enjoying the sudden fame from selling the winning ticket.
“It’s exciting, but we’re more excited about the community of Cottonwood and for making national headlines, putting Cottonwood in front of people, but we’re excited for the winner,” Gill said.
The family was conducting television interviews on Saturday morning and posing for photos.
Gill’s sister, Jaspreet Gill, said the winning ticket was sold sometime between Wednesday and Friday, but they had no idea who the winner was.
A lottery official called the family about 9:30 p.m. Friday to tell them the ticket was sold from their store.
“Saying ‘Hey, it says your guys’ store sold it.’ I couldn’t believe it at that time, so lottery (workers) confirmed it around 11:30. They called my dad, and they confirmed, ‘hey, you guys sold it.’ We’ll be there tomorrow to check things out and cross, our T’s and dot our I’s,” Ishar Gill said.
It was by far the largest prize their store had been involved with during the 21 years the family has owned the market. They had previously sold a Scratcher ticket that paid out a $10,000 prize, Ishar Gill said.
Ishar Gill said his father, Jaspal Singh, and the rest of his family will receive up to $1 million for selling the winning ticket.
How to play the Mega Millions
To play the Mega Millions, you have to buy a ticket. You can do this at a variety of locations, including your local convenience store, gas station, or even grocery store. In some states, Mega Millions tickets can be bought online.
Once you have your ticket, you need to pick six numbers. Five of them will be white balls with numbers from 1 to 70. The gold Mega Ball ranges from 1 to 25.
If you’re feeling especially unlucky, or don’t want to go through the hassle of picking, you can ask for a “Quick Pick” or an “Easy Pick.” These options let the computer randomly generate numbers for you.
For an extra dollar, players can add the “Megaplier,” which increases non-jackpot prizes by two, three, four, or five times. The Megaplier is drawn before six Mega Millions numbers are drawn.
There are 15 Megapiler balls in all:
Where can you buy lottery tickets?
Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.
You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network, in these U.S. states and territories: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Texas, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to pick your lottery game and numbers, place your order, see your ticket and collect your winnings all using your phone or home computer.
Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. Must be 18+, 21+ in AZ and 19+ in NE. Not affiliated with any State Lottery. Gambling Problem? Call 1-877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY); 1-800-327-5050 (MA); 1-877-MYLIMIT (OR); 1-800-981-0023 (PR); 1-800-GAMBLER (all others). Visit jackpocket.com/tos for full terms.
This story was updated with new information.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Northern California ticket wins Mega Millions drawing for $1.22B
