California Dreaming, Part Deux: This Year’s Second Powerball Winner From SoCal Crowned

As no one has ever said before, the 15th time was the charm.

That’s how many drawings it took until someone hit the Powerball jackpot this round, as a California ticket-buyer hit all five white balls and the red Powerball Saturday night, taking home a $204.5 million jackpot. If the cash option is chosen, it will be a payout of $91.6 million.

The winning ticket — numbers 1, 29, 37, 56, 68, and red Powerball 13 — was sold at a 7-Eleven on Woodman Avenue in Arleta, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles.

Of the four Powerball jackpots won this year, this is the second to come from southern California, with the other SoCal win coming in March. That ticket — worth $526.5 million — was sold in Anaheim. (The other two Powerball winners this year were purchased in Oregon and Kentucky).

And under California law, the outlet that sells the ticket gets a half a percent of the total payout, capped at $1 million. As such, that 7-Eleven gets the full mil.

“It’s actually quite unbelievable. … I’ve been working here for a long time,” said one of the store employees, according to KTLA.

In addition to the jackpot hitting, two other players — one in Florida, the other in New Hampshire — hit all five white balls and bought the Power Play multiplier, which came in at 2x. They each took home $2 million as a result.

Lottery Geeks estimates 14.6 million tickets were sold for Saturday’s draw.

The Powerball jackpot resets to $20 million for Monday night’s drawing.

Mega balloons

Meanwhile, nobody won the estimated $189 million grand prize in Mega Millions last Friday night, making Tuesday night’s jackpot worth an estimated $202 million.

Friday’s numbers were 2, 28, 37, 38, 58, and a gold Mega ball of 13.

This was the 12th consecutive drawing without a winner, and there were no players who matched all five white balls.

Lottery Geeks estimates 5.7 million tickets were sold for Friday’s drawing — the high water mark of the $5-per-ticket era.

Tickets for Mega Millions cost $5, while Powerball tickets cost $2, with most states offering the multiplier option for Powerball — which impacts any prize won except the jackpot — for an additional $1. Mega Millions comes with an automatic multiplier for any prize except the jackpot.

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