A single winning ticket for the Mega Millions $1.22 billion jackpot was sold in California for the drawing held on Friday, December 27, 2024. This marks the end of a 31-drawing run since the last jackpot was won in Texas on September 10, 2024 . The winning numbers were 3, 7, 37, 49, 55, and a Mega Ball of 6 with a Megaplier of 3X . The odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 302,575,350 . This is the seventh Mega Millions jackpot in history to be greater than $1 billion .
The lucky ticket was purchased at a Circle K
(Sunshine Food and Gas) located on Rhonda Road in Cottonwood, California, a
city in Shasta County . This is the fifth-largest winning sum in the game's
history . The winner can choose to receive the $1.22 billion as an annuity paid
out over 30 years or take a lump sum cash payout option of $549.7 million .
While only one ticket matched all six numbers
to win the grand prize, millions of other tickets won smaller prizes in this
drawing. In total, there were more than 5.6 million winning tickets across all
prize tiers in the December 27 drawing . This includes 65 second-tier prizes of
$1 million or more, which were won in 26 different jurisdictions across the
United States .
Two other tickets sold in California matched
five of the six numbers, winning $787,543 each . Three other tickets matching
five of six numbers were sold nationwide — one each in Texas, Arizona, and
Missouri .
In addition to those prizes, 157 tickets
matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball to win the game's third-tier prize
. Twenty-eight of these tickets are worth $30,000 each because they included
the optional Megaplier. The other 129 third-tier winning tickets won the
standard $10,000 each .
The Mega Millions $1.22 billion jackpot
drawing created excitement across the nation, with one lucky winner in
California taking home the grand prize. Millions of other players also won
smaller prizes, highlighting the widespread participation and anticipation
surrounding this lottery event. The news of this massive jackpot likely
increased lottery participation across the country. The information presented
in this article was verified on the official Mega Millions website . The
identity of the jackpot winner remains unknown, but the news of their
incredible fortune has undoubtedly sparked celebrations and dreams of a
brighter future.
