California ticket holder claims the fifth-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history
A lucky Mega Millions ticket holder in California became one of the wealthiest people in the world overnight after winning an estimated US$1.3 billion (S$1.7 billion) on December 28, 2024. This win marks the fifth-largest jackpot in the game’s history.
The winning ticket matched all six numbers—3, 7, 37, 49, 55, plus the gold Mega Ball 6—during the December 27 draw. The ticket was sold in Cottonwood, California, located about 300 km north of San Francisco.
Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, commented on the extraordinary win: “What an amazing present this holiday season! At an incredibly special time of year, this is both an incredibly special moment for our winner.”
The jackpot had reached a massive US$1.269 billion after no one had matched all six numbers in the previous 30 draws. The odds of winning such a jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350. This win comes shortly after the largest lottery prize in US history, a US$2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won by a single ticket holder in California in November 2022.
