A California resident struck it rich on Saturday, winning an estimated $1.3 billion Mega Millions jackpot—the fifth-largest in the game’s history.
The winning numbers—3, 7, 37, 49, 55, and the gold Mega Ball 6—were drawn on Friday. The lucky ticket was purchased in Cottonwood, a small town roughly 200 miles north of San Francisco, as confirmed by a statement from Mega Millions.
Joshua Johnston, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, called the win a “remarkable gift this holiday season,” adding, “This moment is truly extraordinary for our winner at such a special time of year.”
The jackpot had swelled to $1.269 billion after 30 consecutive drawings without a winner, with odds of claiming the prize at an astonishing 1 in 302,575,350.
This monumental win comes after the largest U.S. lottery jackpot on record—a $2.04 billion Powerball prize—was claimed by another Californian ticket holder in November 2022.
