RELEASE DATE: 7/25/2018
SACRAMENTO – The results are in. We now know that the holder of the California ticket that hit the Mega Millions jackpot last night is the only winner in the drawing. So, the lucky person who bought their ticket in San Jose will not have to share the largest jackpot in California Lottery history. And there is even more good news for this winner. The estimated jackpot prize amount has been revised based on final sales totals and is now worth an incredible $543 million (Up from an estimated $522 million)! The final lump-sum cash option is $320.5 Million (Up from $308.1 million).
Here again are the specifics: The California ticket was sold at Ernie’s Liquors, which is located at 2808 South White Road in San Jose (Santa Clara County). It successfully matched the numbers 19-2-4-1-29 and the Mega number 20. This retailer wins too! This business will receive the maximum retailer bonus from the Lottery of $1 million just for selling the lucky ticket…not to mention the flood of publicity now heading its way. (The retailer bonus is not subtracted from the winner’s jackpot prize.)
Representatives from the California Lottery are en route from Sacramento to the winning retail location in San Jose. For media seeking photo opportunities and sound, California Lottery Director of Corporate Communications Russ Lopez will present the retailer with a symbolic check indicative of the one they will receive for selling the winning ticket. Lopez will also update reporters with the very latest information on this historic jackpot.
WHAT: $543 million Mega Millions jackpot media availability
WHEN: TODAY – July 25, 2018
TIME: 12:30 p.m. (Representatives will be available afterwards to answer questions)
WHERE: Ernie’s Liquors, 2808 South White Road, San Jose, CA 95148
We will NOT know who the winner is until the ticket is claimed. The jackpot winner has 365 days from the date of the draw to claim. This is extremely important. This is a very valuable piece of paper. The Lottery winner should IMMEDIATELY SIGN THE BACK OF THEIR TICKET IN INK and keep it in a safe place where they’ll remember until he or she can claim it at one of our nine California Lottery District Office Locations. This includes two locations in the Bay Area, including one in South San Francisco and one in Hayward. Office hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. California’s latest multimillionaire is also strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with our Winner’s Handbook, which can be found here.
Here are some additional quick facts about this win:
Total final jackpot amount: $543 million (Largest in California Lottery history, 3rd-largest Mega Millions jackpot in the game’s history and the 9th-largest U.S. jackpot history).
If the winner chooses the annuity option, he or she will receive approximately $543 million (before federal taxes) paid out over 29 years (after the first payment).
If a winner decides to take the cash option, the individual lump-sum amount will be $320.5 million (before federal taxes).
The California winner does not have to pay state tax on the win.
California sold $123.8 million worth of Mega Millions tickets during this jackpot run which began on May 8, 2018. It took 23 draws (22 rolls) for someone to finally hit the huge $543 million jackpot.
The estimated contribution to California public education from this Mega Millions run is nearly $50 million.
Based on preliminary figures for FY 2017-18, per-pupil Lottery funding (assuming Lottery monies are distributed evenly to each student) comes out to an estimated $204 per student.
For media seeking additional information, California Lottery information officers are available to help you. Contact the Lottery’s Corporate Communications main line at (916) 822-8131.
Mega Millions is played in 44 states (plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Draw times are Tuesdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. PDT. Tickets are $2 and can be purchased from any of the 23,000 California Lottery retailers or one of the more than 4,000 Lottery Lucky Retailers. Please visit the California Lottery’s Mega Millions site for more information on how to play.
The California Lottery is a $6 billion enterprise based in Sacramento. It is one of the few state agencies that is a revenue generator, not accepting taxpayer dollars from the State’s General Fund. Its mission is to provide supplemental funding to California schools while simultaneously supporting local communities. In FY 2017-18, the Lottery created 93 new millionaires. Ninety-five cents of every dollar spent by our players goes back to local communities in the form of contributions to public schools and colleges, prizes and retail compensation. The California Lottery urges its customers to play responsibly and within their budgets. If you feel you have a gambling problem, or know someone who does, you can get help at 1-800-GAMBLER.
Media contact: California Lottery Public Information Office, [email protected]