Winning $1.22 Billion Mega Millions Ticket Sold In Cottonwood, California

One lucky Mega Millions ticket-buyer in Cottonwood, California — that’s in Shasta County, for those keeping score at home — is now the proud owner of a winning $1.22 billion lottery ticket.

The winning numbers — 3, 7, 37, 49, and 55, plus the gold Mega Ball of 6 — were drawn Friday night. The ticket, according to the Redding Record Searchlight, was purchased at the Circle K Sunshine Food and Gas market at the corner of Rhonda and Gas Point Roads.

And while the ticket-buyer has not yet come forward, the owner of the Circle K, Ishar Gill, certainly has.

“It’s exciting, but we’re more excited about the community of Cottonwood and for making national headlines, putting Cottonwood in front of people, but we’re excited for the winner,” Gill said, according to the Record Searchlight report.

Gill’s daughter, Jaspreet Gill, said the winning ticket was sold sometime between Wednesday and Friday, but she doesn’t know who bought the lucky piece of paper.

To be clear, this is more than just good PR for Gill and family; for selling the winning ticket, they get $1 million themselves.

There were five other million-dollar winners Friday night, as another pair of ticket-buyers in California, along with players in Missouri, Texas, and Arizona, matched all five white balls to stake claims to seven-figure prizes.

Lottery Geeks estimates 137 million Mega Millions tickets were sold for Friday’s drawing.

Additionally, the $1.22 billion prize is the fifth largest in Mega Millions history, and the ninth biggest lottery jackpot hit in American history.

The next Mega Millions drawing — for a “paltry” $20 million jackpot — is scheduled for New Year’s Eve.

Powerball powers up

Powerball is now the place to win big money, as nobody took home the prize Saturday night, pushing Monday night’s drawing to an estimated $163 million, with a $73.9 million cash prize.

Saturday’s winning numbers — 6, 31, 51, 54, 55, and a red Powerball of 12 — not only didn’t yield a jackpot winner, but nobody matched all five white balls either to become instant millionaires.

Lottery Geeks estimates some 17.6 million tickets were sold for Saturday’s drawing. 

Tickets for either lottery cost $2, with most states offering the multiplier option — which impacts any prize won except the jackpot — for an additional $1.

Both Powerball and Mega Millions are legal in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Tickets for both draw games are also sold in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, customers can buy tickets for Powerball, but not for Mega Millions.

All-time biggest jackpots

Here is a list of the all-time top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
3. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
4. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
5. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
6. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
7. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
9. $1.22 billion, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California
10. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey

And here’s the all-time top 10 by lump-sum cash value:

1. $997.6 million, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $983.5 million, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
3. $877.8 million, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
4. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
6. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
7. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
8. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $571.9 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California