SACRAMENTO, February 26, 2005 -- The Mega Millions jackpot for Tuesday, March 1, 2005 has soared to $112 million. “California players will soon be part of the excitement by playing for MEGA jackpots,” said Lottery Interim Director Chon Gutierrez. “By the end of this year, California will add Mega Millions to our gallery of games and we couldn’t be more excited about it. We expect jackpots of this size approximately 18 times a year after joining Mega Millions!”
California Lottery players will continue to share in the excitement of playing the Lottery’s flagship game – SuperLOTTO Plus. This game has enjoyed jackpots in excess of $100 million 6 times. Including, the February 16, 2002, record-breaking jackpot of $193 million that was won by 3 winning tickets purchased in Montebello, Orange and Half Moon Bay. Also, Alcario Castellano of San Jose, California made Lottery history when he became the record-breaking highest individual jackpot winner of $141 million on June 23, 2001.
Mega Millions can now be played in eleven other states and soon California will be added to the list of states that take part in Mega Millions. Currently, Washington is the closest state where Mega Millions can be played. Some of the lucky past winners who have won MEGA jackpots include Geraldine Williams, a retired custodian and cleaning lady from Massachusetts, who won a $294 million Mega Millions jackpot in July of 2004 and gave some of the money to her children, contributed some to charities and traveled the world. Miguel & Maria Bonilla of Maryland won a $109 million Mega Millions jackpot in April of 2004 and were excited to use their winnings to support their children’s educations, and visited their family in Australia.
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