A Californian became a lot wealthier Friday evening after the Mega Millions drawing, but some Georgians still took home cash.
A ticket-holder in Cottonwood, a city in Shasta County with a population of just over 6,000, matched all six numbers drawn: 3, 7, 37, 49, 55, and the Mega Ball number of 6. The jackpot was worth about $1.22 billion, or an estimated $549.7 million in cash.
“Congratulations to our $1.22 billion jackpot winner from California,” Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a press release. “What an amazing present this holiday season! At an incredibly special time of year, this is both an incredibly special moment for our winner, and for all the great organizations and causes that benefit from lottery ticket sales around the country.”
One person who bought their ticket at a Publix on Howell Mill Road in northwest Atlanta won $30,000, a Georgia Lottery spokesperson confirmed. Three others who bought their tickets in Atlanta, Brunswick and Baxley won $10,000.
Friday’s drawing produced more than 5.5 million winning tickets across the different prize tiers. Five ticket-holders matched the five white balls to win the game’s second-tier prize. Two winners were in California, and the others were in Arizona, Missouri and Texas.
The last jackpot was won in Texas on Sept. 10. Since then, there have been more than 31.4 million winning tickets across all prize tiers in 31 drawings. Just over 60 people in various states have won $1 million or more, but no winners have come from Georgia, according to officials.
It was only the fourth Mega Millions jackpot won in 2024, but there is still one more chance to win. Drawings take place at 11 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta. The last drawing will occur on the last day of the year.
You may decide to try your luck one last time before ringing in the new year. After all, the odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24. The odds increase to 1 in 302,575,350 for the jackpot.
The game is also changing in April 2025. Officials said tickets will cost $5 per play to create bigger jackpots more frequently, improve the odds of winning and grow jackpots faster.
“We are creating a game that both our existing players and people new to Mega Millions will love and get excited about playing,” Johnston said back in October.
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