The Mega Millions lottery is one of the two major multi-state lottery games in the United States, along with Powerball. Mega Millions is offered in 45 states, including California, as well as in Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The game was introduced in 2002 as The Big Game, before adopting the Mega Millions name in 2010. Mega Millions drawings take place every Tuesday and Friday evening.
To win the Mega Millions jackpot, players must match all five white balls numbered 1-70 and the Mega Ball numbered 1-25. The odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 302 million. Lesser prizes are awarded for matching some but not all of the winning numbers. Mega Millions jackpots start at $20 million and grow based on game sales and rolls without a jackpot winner. The current record Mega Millions jackpot is $1.537 billion, won in South Carolina in 2018.
California has participated in Mega Millions since the game began in 2002. Over the years, there have been a number of winners from California. However, Mega Millions jackpot wins do not occur very frequently, and it has been several years since someone in California has won the top prize.
When Was the Last California Mega Millions Jackpot Winner?
The most recent time that a ticket sold in California won the Mega Millions jackpot was on July 31, 2018. The winning ticket for that draw was purchased at Ernie’s Liquor in San Jose. The ticket was quick pick, meaning the numbers were randomly generated by the lottery terminal, and it matched all five white balls and the Mega Ball to win the $543 million jackpot.
The July 2018 win marked the end of a long jackpot drought in California. Prior to that, the last time a Mega Millions ticket sold in California had won the jackpot was more than five years earlier, back on December 17, 2013. That winning ticket, worth $648 million, was sold at Jenny’s Gift Shop in San Jose.
In between those two California jackpot wins, there were dozens of Mega Millions draws with no jackpot winner anywhere in the country. During that span, the game saw several record jackpots, including a $656 million prize in 2012 that ranks as the third-largest Mega Millions jackpot ever. However, none of those massive jackpots had a winner in California.
So all told, when the San Jose ticket won $543 million in July 2018, it marked the end of a stretch of more than five years – or over 250 Mega Millions drawings – without anyone in California hitting the Mega Millions jackpot. That lengthy gap makes that win stand out as the last significant Mega Millions victory for California lottery players.
Other Recent California Mega Millions Wins
Though the state has not produced a jackpot winner since July 2018, some notable wins have happened in California more recently:
– In the October 23, 2018 draw, two tickets sold in California matched the five white balls to win $1 million each. Those tickets were sold in San Francisco and Santa Rosa.
– On April 5, 2019, a ticket purchased in Pasadena won a $9 million prize by matching four white balls and the Mega Ball.
– In the September 13, 2019 drawing, five tickets sold in California matched four white balls and the Mega Ball. Each of those tickets won a prize of $27,093.
– On Christmas Day 2020, a San Bruno ticket matched four white balls and the Mega Ball to win $2.3 million.
– In 2021, there were several million-dollar winners across California, including prizes of $2.9 million in Vista, $2.4 million in San Francisco, $2.3 million in Pasadena, and $2 million in Sun Valley.
So while the jackpot has eluded California players since 2018, there have still been numerous smaller prize winners spread across the state in recent years. The lottery’s own statistics show that from 2009 to 2021, more than 12.5 million winning Mega Millions tickets were sold in California, totaling over $1.3 billion in winnings.
The Biggest Mega Millions Jackpots Won in California
Here is a look at the top 5 jackpots won by tickets sold in California since Mega Millions began:
Jackpot Amount | Date Won | Retailer Location |
---|---|---|
$648 million | December 17, 2013 | Jenny’s Gift Shop, San Jose |
$543 million | July 31, 2018 | Ernie’s Liquor, San Jose |
$315 million | November 4, 2005 | Jackson Shell, Eureka |
$190 million | June 25, 2002 | Garvey Nutrition, La Puente |
$149 million | February 18, 2014 | Gift Port, Milpitas |
As the table shows, three of the five largest Mega Millions jackpots ever awarded on tickets purchased in California have come from the San Jose area. In particular, the retailers Jenny’s Gift Shop and Ernie’s Liquor have each sold two of the biggest jackpot tickets in the state’s history.
The table also illustrates that California was once a frequent winner of huge jackpots earlier in the game’s history. However, more recently, the state has often gone long stretches without producing a jackpot victor.
Comparison to Powerball Jackpots in California
The other multi-state lottery game offered in California is Powerball. This game follows a similar format to Mega Millions, with players selecting five main numbers and a separate Powerball number.
Winning the jackpot is extremely rare, but California has tallied some notable Powerball jackpot wins through the years:
– $699.8 million, won in Morro Bay on October 7, 2021
– $316.3 million, won in La Quinta on January 6, 2021
– $131.7 million, won in Pacific Palisades on November 1, 2014
– $315 million, won in Eureka on November 4, 2005
The most recent California Powerball jackpot came in October 2021. So as with Mega Millions, it has been multiple years since a jackpot ticket was sold in California – for either major national lottery game.
Overall, California has historically been luckier at winning Powerball jackpots compared to Mega Millions. Since Powerball began in 1992, around a dozen jackpots have been won in California. For Mega Millions since 2002, the state has seen only about half as many jackpot victories.
Notable Mega Millions Wins Outside of California
Though jackpots have been elusive in California of late, Mega Millions players in other states have won huge prizes over the past several years:
– $1.537 billion – Won in South Carolina on October 23, 2018, this stands as the largest Mega Millions jackpot to date. It also ranks as the biggest U.S. lottery prize ever awarded to a single ticket.
– $1.05 billion – Won in Michigan on January 22, 2021, this jackpot marked just the second time Mega Millions has exceeded $1 billion.
– $656 million – Two winning tickets, sold in Kansas and Illinois, split this then-record prize on March 30, 2012.
– $516 million – Won in Pennsylvania on May 21, 2021.
– $451 million – Won in Florida on January 5, 2018.
– $437 million – Won in New York on January 1, 2019, the largest Mega Millions prize ever won on New Year’s Day.
– $425 million – Won in California on January 28, 2014, the state’s third largest Mega Millions jackpot.
– $414 million – Won in Florida on September 15, 2017.
– $393 million – Won in Illinois on August 11, 2017.
As the list shows, players across the U.S. have won staggering jackpots in recent years. California did score a $425 million prize in 2014. But otherwise, the really giant jackpots since 2018 have all been won elsewhere.
Why Jackpots Are Harder to Win Today
In the earliest days of Mega Millions, jackpots frequently stayed below $100 million. But as more states joined and ticket sales increased, jackpots began reaching record heights. California’s $648 million jackpot in 2013 more than doubled the previous Mega Millions record at the time.
However, in recent years, another change has made Mega Millions jackpots even tougher to win. In 2017, the game was updated with longer odds and higher starting jackpots. Players now choose 5 numbers from 1-70 plus a Mega Ball from 1-25, making the odds of matching all six numbers about 1 in 302 million.
With the new format, the Mega Millions jackpot has only been won a few times per year. California’s increasing population hasn’t helped increase those long odds. And as the huge jackpots keep rolling without winners, it extends the droughts even further.
Why Lottery Jackpots Grab Attention
When a lottery jackpot grows to hundreds of millions of dollars, it understandably captures the public’s attention. Even though the odds of winning are infinitesimal, there is still something compelling about the possibility of instantly becoming rich beyond your wildest dreams. Stories about winners are often widely reported by the media and talked about by people across the country.
Psychologists note there are several factors that help explain why enormous lottery jackpots seize our imaginations:
– It is universally fascinating to think about sudden, massive improvements in financial status. The idea of instantly gaining hundreds of millions taps into people’s desires and fantasies.
– There is a thrill in having even just a tiny chance at a huge, life-changing prize, since it feels like possessing a “golden ticket.”
– When jackpots roll over repeatedly, the publicity generates a fear of missing out if you don’t play.
– We tend to overestimate very tiny probabilities, giving significance to an outcome that is extraordinarily unlikely.
– Lotteries, unlike most forms of gambling, have an element of seasonal cycles and unpredictable luck rather than skill. This resonates with something childlike and magical in our minds.
So while actually winning the jackpot remains exceedingly unlikely, there are certainly understandable reasons why massive lottery prizes spark so much public interest. And that attention will continue focusing on places like California that have a history of producing jackpot victors.
Possible Changes Ahead for Mega Millions
With jackpots harder to win under the current Mega Millions rules, there has been some discussion about potential future changes to the game to improve the odds. However, none of the major U.S. lottery games have announced any definite plans to alter their formats.
Some possible changes that have been floated include:
– Adding a third weekly drawing to increase jackpot rollovers. Currently, Mega Millions only holds drawings on Tuesdays and Fridays.
– Reducing the pool of numbers that players can choose from. Shrinking the number field would improve the chances of multiple tickets matching.
– Introducing a rolling raffle-type system for awarding secondary prizes besides the jackpot. This might keep interest up even when the jackpot is smaller.
– Offering a cash value lump sum payment as an alternative prize choice rather than only the annuity option. This could broaden the game’s appeal.
Of course, any changes would be implemented carefully to preserve the game’s integrity and odds structure. California lottery officials will likely monitor whether Mega Millions or Powerball opt to make any modifications to spark new interest.
Future Outlook for California Lottery Winners
For California lottery players hoping to be the state’s next Mega Millions jackpot winner, the future outlook boils down to one thing – patience. The reality is the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against winning the top prize in either Mega Millions or Powerball. Any individual ticket stands almost zero chance of coming out on top.
Yet history shows that eventually there will be another lucky Californian holding a jackpot-winning ticket. Most likely, it will happen when the national Mega Millions or Powerball jackpot grows very large after a long roll without a winner anywhere in the country. That’s when ticket-buying escalates all across the state, including from casual players drawn in by the publicity.
State lottery officials will want to see jackpots won in California from time to time to keep resident interest up and drive revenue. But unfortunately for hopeful individuals, precisely timing that next big win comes down entirely to tremendous fortune. For now, the jackpot drought continues in California and most other participating states too. But perhaps the very next Mega Millions or Powerball drawing will see that multi-year wait finally come to an end with a California winner.
Conclusion
In summary, the last time a Mega Millions ticket purchased in California won the jackpot was back on July 31, 2018, when a $543 million prize was claimed. That ticket, sold in San Jose, ended a jackpot dry spell for the state lasting over five years. In the years since, no one in California has won the Mega Millions top prize, though there have been several million-dollar winners of smaller prizes across the state.
Historically, California lottery players have tallied some massive Mega Millions jackpot wins, including a record $648 million prize in 2013. However, the adjusted game matrix introduced in 2017 has made jackpots harder to win, contributing to longer droughts everywhere. While the state will surely produce another jackpot winner someday, California residents continue anxiously awaiting the next historic Mega Millions victory. For now, lottery hopefuls will need sustained optimism and some fortunate timing for a chance at California’s next blockbuster jackpot celebration.