$426 million Mega Millions lottery ticket sold in California
Someone who bought a Mega Millions ticket in Southern California is the lucky winner of the $426 million jackpot prize
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A single ticket sold in Southern California matched all six numbers and was the lucky winner of the $426 million Mega Millions jackpot prize.
The winning numbers drawn Friday night were 3, 16, 25, 44 and 55. The Mega ball was 13, the California State Lottery said.
The winning ticket was sold at a Chevron gas station in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles
The winner is yet to be known. Lottery officials say the ticket holder has one year to come forward. They’ll have the choice of taking a lump sum payment of approximately $293 million (before federal taxes), or the entire jackpot amount in graduated payments over 29 years.
“It’s always exciting when we have a winning ticket with such a big jackpot in California," said Alva V. Johnson, director of the California State Lottery. “What makes it particularly meaningful is that California’s public schools are also a big winner! Raising money for education is why the Lottery exists in the first place, and we take a lot of pride in that.”
The jackpot was advertised as $421 million, but skyrocketing sales lifted the the total to $426 million.