OAN Staff James Meyers
2:52 PM – Wednesday, March 19, 2025
The winner of the enormous December $1.269 billion Mega Millions jackpot has officially come forward to claim their prize.
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This week, the California Lottery announced the winning ticket was purchased by Rosemary Casarotti, at the Sunshine Food and Gas Circle K near Cottonwood, California.
Casarotti declined to speak at a press conference and told officials she “wishes to remain as private as possible.”
“We offer Rosemary our heartfelt congratulations for her historic win and our gratitude for her part in supporting the California Lottery’s mission to provide extra money for public education in our state,” Harjinder Shergill Chima, California Lottery Director, said in a news release.
The winner chose the lump sum option, which makes her total earnings from the winning ticket an estimated $571 million, instead of choosing the annual payments over a 20-year span, which would’ve equated to an amount closer to the $1.26 billion.
“I had the pleasure of speaking with Rosemary by phone following her win, and I can tell you with certainty how grateful she is and how happy she is to have won this money and to have supported public schools,” California Lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker said.
“A player can play the California Lottery no matter where they live. They don’t even have to be a U.S. citizen. The only rule for the playing the California Lottery is that you are an adult. You are 18 years old. After that any details about the winner other than their name are protected by law for privacy,” Becker said at the press conference.
“We offer Rosemary our heartfelt congratulations for her historic win and our gratitude for her part in supporting the California Lottery’s mission to provide extra money for public education in our state,” said California Lottery Director Harjinder Shergill Chima, who said the massive jackpot win added an estimated $89.5 million to the state’s schools.
The Mega Millions winning numbers for that billion-dollar drawing on December 27, 2024 were: 3 – 7 – 37 – 49 – 55 and Megaball 6. The Megaplier was 3x
The Circle K that sold the winning ticket to Casarotti received $1 million for her win.
“It’s an amazing feeling to know that our store played a part in making Lottery history,” store owner Ishar Gill said at the news conference. “Our customers are the heart of our business, and we’re grateful to be a part of such an amazing community.”
Since the winning lottery ticket was announced in December, ticket sales have skyrocketed, Gill said.
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