SACRAMENTO – With early-bird shoppers getting a jump on the holiday season this September in the quest for that perfect bargain gift, the California Lottery has just the ticket. A single lucky $1 MEGA Millions lottery ticket could yield a $135 million prize that would surely make someone’s holidays very merry indeed.
Instead of visions of sugar plums and reindeers, imagine how well you could stuff the stockings of your loved ones with $135 million at your disposal. If a white Christmas is your heart’s desire, create your own winter wonderland along the lines of Australia's Coffs Harbor Snowdome. The facility features a 459 feet ski slope, almost 4 inches of fresh snow daily from an artificial snow machine and a constant, year-round temperature of 41 degrees Fahrenheit, all for less than $1 million a year. Or, consider sending your loved ones the real 12 days of Christmas complete with a partridge in a pear tree, turtle doves, French hens, calling birds, gold rings, geese, swans, milk maids, ladies, lords, pipers and drummers. According to PNC Financial Services Group’s annual Christmas Price Index, it would cost $72,608 to bring the song to life. With $135 million, you could well afford 1,859 days of Christmas instead of the standard 12.
Today’s $135 million MEGA Millions jackpot is the 4th largest in California Lottery history. If the jackpot is won by a single person, it would be the 2nd largest individual prize since the Lottery’s inception. Since California joined MEGA Millions in 2005, four MEGA Millions jackpots have been won by Californians for a total of $472 million.
Lottery winners are not the only ones who benefit. Public education receives at least 34 cents of every dollar players spend on Lottery products. The California Lottery contributed a record $1.28 billion to public education in 2005-06 out of historic sales of $3.58 billion, the sixth year in a row the Lottery has provided more than $1 billion in supplemental funding for education. Since its inception in 1985, the Lottery has contributed more than $18 billion to California schools.
MEGA Millions can be played at approximately 18,500 retail business establishments around California. The MEGA Millions draw takes place each Tuesday and Friday night at 8:00 p.m. Players may purchase tickets until 7:45 p.m. on the night of the draw.