SACRAMENTO -- California State Lottery officials are excited to announce that California has sold its 5th MEGA Millions jackpot ticket! Last night’s winning combination of 28, 30, 33, 48, 54 and the MEGA number 25 was sold at Freeman Market in Hawthorne. The $112 million jackpot prize was won by one lucky ticket, although it is not yet known if that ticket is owned by a single winner or a group.
If the winner chooses annual payments, they will receive equal payments of approximately $4.3 million a year (before federal tax withholding) for the next 26 years. If the cash option is chosen, the prize would be more than $60 million (before federal tax withholding). A winner has the opportunity to choose the cash value of their jackpot prize within 60 days of the claim date. The winning retailer location is Freeman Market located at 11733 Freeman Avenue in Hawthorne, CA. This retailer will receive a retailer bonus of $560,000 for selling the winning ticket. Winners have 180 days from the date of the draw to claim their prize.
Since California joined MEGA Millions, five MEGA Millions jackpots totaling $589 million have been won by Californians. In November 2005, the largest jackpot ever in the history of California was won when seven lucky players shared a MEGA Millions jackpot worth $315 million!
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.