Mega Millions Player in California Wins $4.6M After Narrowly Missing the Jackpot

An incredibly lucky player in California has scooped up a huge Mega Millions prize after matching almost all numbers correctly. While the player narrowly missed the $166 million jackpot, they would still take a life-changing $4.6 million home.

California Player Wins Big

According to the California Lottery, the winner scored a $4,607,223 prize after matching five winning numbers with a 3x multiplier in the drawing on Friday, August 8. Lottery officials elaborated that the player matched all numbers correctly, with the exception of the Mega Ball.

For context, the winning numbers were 2, 6, 8, 14, and 49, with a Mega Ball of 12. The Mega Ball was the only thing that kept the winner away from the highly coveted Mega Millions jackpot.

While most states have fixed prizes for players who guess all five white numbers but miss the Mega Ball number, California requires major payoffs to be based on the actual number of sales and winners.

The California Lottery also noted that the winning ticket was sold at Spirits World Liquor in Tarzana.

At the time of the August 8 drawing, the jackpot stood at $166 million, with a cash value of $75.2 million. As no one won the jackpot during that drawing, it has now increased to an estimated $182 million with a cash value of $82.1 million.

The latest Mega Millions jackpot was won in June by a player from Virginia.

Lightning Strikes Twice for NC Woman

In the meantime, a lottery player identified as Jennifer Kleinendorst just won a jackpot prize for a second time. After winning the $250,000 grand prize from the Multiply The Cash Second Chance drawing in June, the North Carolina woman went on to win a $2-million prize off a $20 100X The Cash scratcher.

After selecting the lump sum option, she secured $861,006 on her latest win.

Lightning Strikes… 389 Times?

Elsewhere, a player at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa hit 389 jackpots in a single day. The player, Maher O., who is a social media influencer, played a rich variety of games, scooping up jackpots ranging from more modest prizes to six-figure sums.

The man walked out with over $1.8 million. However, his influencer status led to some skepticism about the authenticity of his wins.