Mega Millions lottery tickets are purchased at a store where winning tickets were sold in Hawthorne, California, December 27, 2024 (AFP/Frederic J. BROWN)
A winning ticket worth $1.22 billion (around 1.17 billion euros) was sold by an American lottery, the fifth largest jackpot in history, its organizer announced on Saturday.
The ticket was sold in the state of California, said Mega Millions, which revealed the six winning numbers on Friday evening: 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and 6.
The identity of the winner has not been revealed. It is also unclear whether the winner knows they have the jackpot ticket and will claim their prize.
The lottery ticket was purchased at a gas station in the town of Cottonwood, about 130 miles (210 kilometers) north of the city of Sacramento, Mega Millions said.
The winner can claim the full $1.22 billion in annual payments over 30 years or opt for a one-time cash payment of $549.7 million (€527 million) before taxes .
This is the fifth largest jackpot in American lottery history offered by Mega Millions, which sells tickets in 45 states. The largest amount won in the lottery was $2.04 billion (1.956 billion euros). The winning ticket was also sold in California.
