A winning ticket for the $1.22 billion Mega Millions jackpot was sold in California, marking one of the largest jackpots in US history. The ticket was purchased at Sunshine Food and Gas in Cottonwood, northern California.
The winner’s identity remains unknown, but they have the option to take a cash lump sum of approximately $549.7 million or the full jackpot paid out over 30 years. This prize is the fifth-largest in Mega Millions history and seventh to exceed $1 billion.
According to Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, “Congratulations to our $1.22 billion jackpot winner from California.” The jackpot was claimed after a 31-drawing run that began on September 10, when the last jackpot was won.
Notably, this prize surpasses only one other record-breaking US lottery jackpot, which was won by a man in California in November 2022 for $2.04 billion. Last year, another ticket sold in California won a $1.765 billion Powerball prize.
The Mega Millions jackpot has now reset to $20 million ahead of the New Year’s Eve draw. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot remain about one in 302,575,350.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/winning-ticket-1-22b-mega-millions-jackpot-sold-cottonwood-california-2024-12