COTTONWOOD, Calif. — A single ticket sold in Northern California matched all six numbers – white balls 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and Mega Ball 6 – to take home the $1.22 billion jackpot in Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing, according to lottery officials.
The life-changing ticket was sold at Sunshine Food and Gas at 3505 Rhonda Road in Cottonwood, a small town located roughly 145 miles north of Sacramento in Shasta County, the California Lottery said on its website.
“What an amazing present this holiday season,” Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement. “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.”
The $1.22 billion jackpot is the fifth-largest in Mega Millions history and the seventh to exceed $1 billion.
Prior to the drawing, no California Lottery player had ever won a Mega Millions jackpot this large.
Lottery officials said five tickets matched the five white balls to win the game’s second-tier prize. Two were sold in California and one each in Arizona, Missouri and Texas.
The next drawing will take place Tuesday and is worth an estimated $20 million, according to lottery officials.
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