A buyer performs Mega Thousands and thousands lottery on the Downtown Miami Souvenirs retailer on December 26, 2024 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Pictures
At the least one Mega Thousands and thousands participant has loads of dough to ring within the New 12 months after drawing the successful quantity. After three months with out anybody successful the highest prize within the lottery, a ticket value an estimated $1.22 billion was bought in California for the drawing Friday evening, in line with the Mega Thousands and thousands web site.
The California Lottery stated the successful ticket was bought at Circle Okay (Sunshine Meals and Fuel) on Rhonda Street in Cottonwood, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Sacramento. The successful ticket matched the white balls 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and the gold Mega Ball 6. Ishar Gill, a son of the shop proprietor, stated the successful ticket was “a blessing” for the small rural city of roughly 6,000 folks. The identification of the winner or winners was not instantly identified.
“We do not have the slightest clue of who could have received it or who could have bought it,” Gill instructed The Related Press. “However congratulations to the winner.”
The full quantity of the Mega Thousands and thousands jackpot would solely be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Practically all grand prize winners decide to take a money payout, which for Friday evening’s drawing is an estimated $549.7 million.
Regardless of the sport’s lengthy odds of 1 in 302.6 million, gamers continued to buy tickets as the dimensions of the grand prize grew. Till Friday, the final time a Mega Thousands and thousands participant hit the highest prize was Sept. 10.
The biggest-ever Mega Thousands and thousands jackpot ticket value $1.6 billion was bought in Florida in August 2023. Two prizes for its compatriot Powerball lottery have been bigger.
Mega Thousands and thousands and Powerball are bought in 45 states, in addition to Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball is also bought in Puerto Rico.
Mega Thousands and thousands ticket costs are set to rise from $2 to $5 in April. The rise might be certainly one of many adjustments that officers say will lead to improved jackpot odds, extra frequent large prizes and even bigger payouts.
