Winning $1.22-billion Mega Millions ticket sold in California

A Mega Millions lottery ticket sold at a Shasta County gas station hit the estimated $1.22-billion jackpot on Friday, officials said.

The ticket was sold at Sunshine Food and Gas, at 3505 Rhonda Road in Cottonwood, the California Lottery announced. The winning numbers were 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and the Mega number 6, with the 3x “MegaPlier.”

The identity of the winner was not immediately known. They will have the option to receive their winnings in a series of payments over 30 years or as a lump sum cash payout of roughly $549.7 million. Winners typically take the cash option, according to lottery officials.

The jackpot is the fifth-largest prize in Mega Millions history and comes at the tail end of a year with unusually few jackpot wins, according to the the lottery. Prior to Friday night, the jackpot had been won only three times in 2024, the fewest wins in any single year since the game began in 2002.

“Congratulations to our $1.22-billion jackpot winner from California,” Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement. “What an amazing present this holiday season!”

The jackpot had been growing since Sept. 10, when a player won an $810-million prize from a ticket sold at a gas station in Sugar Land, Texas. It marks the seventh time the Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed the $1-billion mark.

The prior 6 billion-plus jackpots have all been won in different states — South Carolina in 2018, Michigan in 2021, Illinois in 2022, Maine and Florida in 2023 and New Jersey in March, according to the lottery. The game’s record $1.6-billion jackpot was won in Florida in 2023.