A ticket bought at a Circle K in Cottonwood, California has made Mega Millions jackpot history on the cusp of a new year. The sole ticket matched all five numbers from the drawing on Friday, December 27 to win an annuitized jackpot prize of $1.269 billion and become the ninth-highest jackpot win in the entire US history.
In addition, the currently anonymous ticket holder is the fifth-best Mega Millions prize winner since inception. Friday’s lucky numbers were 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and the gold Mega Ball 6, ending a three-month stretch of drawings without a grand prize winner.
“Congratulations to our $1.269 billion jackpot winner from California. What an amazing present this holiday season. At an incredibly special time of year, this is both an incredibly special moment for our winner and all the great organizations and causes that benefit from lottery ticket sales around the country,” said Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium.
“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.”
According to Mega Millions, the winning ticket was sold at the Circle K (Sunshine Food and Gas) convenience store along Rhonda Rd, Cottonwood, some 145 miles north of Sacramento and about 200 miles away from San Francisco.
Despite being the most populous state in the country with a strong lottery system, this marks the first time a California resident has won a Mega Millions jackpot of $1 billion or more. And Jaspal Singh, owner of the Circle K store was more than excited to have sold the winning ticket.
Singh and family have managed the store for over two decades and only three years ago, in 2021, were counting their losses after a fire gutted the outlet. The family reopened the store in March 2023 after a “long and difficult road to recovery.”
“California, we’ve done it again! One lucky ticket sold at Circle K Stores on Rhonda Rd. in Cottonwood was the sole ticket across the nation to match all six numbers in tonight’s (Dec. 27) Mega Millions drawing!” the California Lottery posted on its social media channels.
Generally, retailers get half of 1% of the total jackpot prize, up to a maximum of a million dollars. Although neither Singh nor store staff have any recollection of the mysterious winner or the day the ticket was sold, they will receive $1 million in prizes. The store owners have stated that they will remain in Cottonwood and will spend some of that money giving back to the community.
The state of California does not permit lottery jackpot winners to maintain anonymity. As such, the lucky jackpot winner has one year to come forward and claim the prize. The winner can choose to receive a one-time payment of $571.9 million or the full $1.269 billion sum, paid out in annuity over the next 30 years.
Both options are the monetary values before federal taxes, but luckily, lottery winnings are deemed non-taxable income in the Golden State. However, with a federal tax rate of 37%, the mysterious winner may find their jackpot prize shrinks to an estimated $360 million, if they opt for the one-time payout.
Nonetheless, the win remains a remarkable feat considering the odds of winning the jackpot are a steep 1 in 302,575,350. With a new chapter open for the lottery in 2025, more lucky players will be looking for life-changing rewards, especially with the Mega Millions ticket price set to increase to $5 from $2 starting April.