California Player Wins $530 Million Mega Millions Jackpot

California Player Wins $530 Million Mega Millions Jackpot
Monday, June 10, 2019

The seventh-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history was given away on Friday night as one ticket matched all the winning numbers. The lucky entry was bought in California, netting the player an astonishing $530 million.

The jackpot had burst past half a billion dollars following 24 consecutive draws without a winner, making it the biggest prize to have been seen on the game since the record-breaking $1.5 billion jackpot from last October.

The numbers drawn on Friday 7th June were 17, 19, 27, 40 and 68, with a Mega Ball of 2. Among the 1.7 million participants across the USA who picked up prizes, only one matched the full winning line. The California Lottery later announced that the winning ticket had been sold at a liquor store in San Diego.

Mega Millions in California

The deadline for claiming most prizes in California is 180 days from the date of the draw. However, winners of the jackpot are allowed up to a year to come forward. The holder of Friday’s winning ticket will need to fill out a claim form and bring it with them, along with their winning ticket, to one of the state’s nine district offices.

The winner will have to choose between taking the full jackpot amount as an annuity, paid in yearly instalments over 29 years, or a reduced lump sum of around $345 million. They will not have the option to remain anonymous, as it is seen as a matter of public record. The California Lottery will therefore release the name and city of residence of the winner.

The latest win is not the biggest Mega Millions jackpot to have been paid out in California. Delivery driver Steve Tran, from the north of the state, pocketed half of a $648 million prize in December 2013, before a syndicate of 11 office workers from San Jose claimed $543 million in July 2018. Go to the Mega Millions Winners page to read more about these winners, plus the rest of the game’s top ten.

Mega Millions works slightly differently in California to all of the other states, as the non-jackpot prizes have to be calculated on a pari-mutuel basis. This means that rather than giving away fixed amounts, the award for each category depends on how many tickets have been sold and the number of winners.

In the latest draw on Friday, for example, a player from California who matched five main numbers without the Mega Ball ended up receiving $1,143,154. The two other winners in this category, from Arizona and Washington, won a fixed $1 million. The Megaplier is also not available in California.

The Mega Millions jackpot has now been won four times since the start of 2019, while millions of other prizes have been snapped up. The jackpot will now reset to $40 million for its next draw on Tuesday night. Powerball is also worth $66 million following its recent win in North Carolina.