News writer; Opinion columnist
Somewhere in the Golden State, there's a lucky winner of the Mega Millions $395 million jackpot…unless there are actually two lucky winners. The answer to this question could be worth one million dollars to the California gas station that sold both winning tickets.
Two winning tickets
California has seen its share of big-time lottery winners, but it's never seen anything like the events surrounding the December 8 Mega Millions drawing.
One retailer sold two winning tickets to the same lottery for the first time in state history.
Given that the odds of winning Mega Millions are 1 in 302,575,350 and that there are over 23,000 authorized lottery retailers in California, the likelihood of one store creating two winners is truly astronomical.
The million-dollar mystery
As of this writing, no one has stepped forward to claim the prize, which could have major implications for the Chevron gas station in Encino that sold both tickets. Under California Lottery rules, a retailer selling a winning ticket is entitled to a one-half of one percent bonus of the jackpot, capped at one million dollars.
But the important question is, did one person buy both tickets, or did two separate people select the correct numbers?
If the answer is one person, the gas station would receive one million dollars. However, if two different people bought the tickets, the gas station could be entitled to a two million dollar payout.
The Los Angeles Times interviewed Nitessh Karla, the manager of Chevron, who has his own theory on the winner. “Personally. I think it is the same guy,” Karla told the Times. “Maybe he forgets he already bought it and buys it again.”
The question of how many payouts the store is actually entitled to is still an open one, says Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the lottery. “Our lawyers are looking at it because if it's one person, the retailer will get a million dollars,” Becker told the Times. “The question is, do they get more than that? Do they get two bonuses that add up to more than a million dollars?”
Regardless of how many millions the gas station actually earns, Karla reports that he's seen an uptick in players buying lottery tickets in hopes of cashing in on the store's unusually good luck.
Worth knowing
To win Mega Millions, players must correctly select five numbers and the Mega number. For this drawing, the winning numbers were 21, 26,53, 66, and 70, with a Mega number of 13. The game features a cumulative jackpot, which starts at $20 million and grows if there is no winner after each drawing.
Mega Millions is available to play in 45 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets cost $2, and drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday.
The majority of proceeds raised by the California lottery benefit educational initiatives in the state. The lottery has raised over $41.5 billion for California public schools since the state lottery began in 1985.
