Mega Millions Winner Bought Billion Dollar Ticket at NorCal Gas Station

A person in California walked into a gas station and walked out a billion dollars richer ... they just didn't know it until last night!

Here's the deal ... a Mega Millions player in the Golden State won the estimated $1.22 billion jackpot -- ending the lottery’s three-month drought of having no grand prize winners.

The lucky duck bought the life-changing piece of paper at a Sunshine Food and Gas station in Cottonwood, located in northern California -- about 146 miles north of Sacramento.

The winning numbers were 3, 7, 37, 49, 55, and the gold Mega ball of 6. -- ultra-lucky ticketholder matched all six numbers, defeating the 1 in 302,575,350 odds of winning the grand prize!

The yet-to-be-identified billionaire can claim the estimated $1.22 billion in annual payouts ... or choose the one-time cash payout of approximately $549.7 million.

According to the CA Lottery's website, there were 2 tickets sold that matched the 5 numbers minus the mega number, with a winning payout of $787,543 -- not too shabby!

As you may recall ... in November 2022 Edwin Castro won $2.04B via Powerball winner ... and picked up a $25.5M mansion in the Hollywood Hills where he supposedly chills with his model girlfriend.

Of course, time will tell what the winner will do with their loads of cash!