SACRAMENTO — The winning ticket for Friday night estimated Mega Millions jackpot of $1.22 billionthe fifth largest in the game’s history, it was sold in Northern California.
The California Lottery said the lucky ticket was sold at a Circle K store in the Shasta County town of Cottonwood. It was the only ticket in the entire country that matched all six numbers in the draw. The winning numbers were 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and a Mega Ball of 6.
The jackpot-winning ticket was the first Mega Millions winner since an $810 million jackpot was won in Texas on September 10 and the third winning ticket of the year. The California Lottery noted that this was the seventh Mega Millions jackpot in history to exceed $1 billion.
The lump sum payout for the $1.22 billion drawing was an estimated $549.7 million, a Mega Millions spokesperson told CBS News. The winner can also choose to receive the $1.22 billion annuity, paid out over 30 years.
“What a wonderful gift this holiday season! At an incredibly special time of year, this is both an incredibly special moment for our winner and for all the wonderful organizations and charities that benefit from raffle ticket sales across the country,” said Joshua Johnston . , Chief Executive Officer of the Mega Millions Consortium.
Two other tickets sold in California — one in the city of Roseville and one in San Bernadino — matched five of the six numbers, the California Lottery added. Those tickets each earned a price of $787,543. Three other tickets matching five of the six numbers were sold nationally – one each in Texas, Arizona and Missouri.
Including the jackpot winner, Mega Millions said there were more than 5.6 million winners across all prize levels in Friday’s draw and more than 31.4 million winning tickets across all prize levels were sold during what had been a series of 31 draws since the last jackpot was won .
