California Lottery identifies two more Powerball millionaires

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: $2.4M Powerball ticket sold in California

A winning Powerball ticket worth more than $2.4 million was sold in California, at a 7-Eleven in Sun Valley. No one won the grand prize, sending the jackpot for Monday's drawing to over $800 million.

LOS ANGELES - Monday night's Powerball jackpot has reached a whopping $1 billion - if you're feeling lucky!

No one has hit the lottery jackpot since New Year's Day. And while the odds of winning are astronomically low - about 1 in 292,201,338 - you never know if you don't play.

California also has a bit of a lucky track record when it comes to big winners hitting those jackpots.

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Most recently, Jainimar Ramones Aponte won more than $1.2 million in the Oct. 4 Powerball drawing. He purchased his winning ticket from the Walmart on Elk Grove Boulevard in Elk Grove.

A little over a month later, Enrique Montenegro also won more than $1.2 million in the Nov. 22 Powerball drawing. He got his lucky ticket at the Stater Bros. Market on Florida Avenue in Hemet.

Just a day ago, California Lottery officials revealed the identity of the person who struck the $1 billion Powerball jackpot last summer. Yanira Alvarez purchased the winning ticket at Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles, according to officials. Her win for the July drawing ended a 39-draw jackpot run for Powerball was the first of two back-to-back billion-dollar winning tickets sold in California.

The second win happened about three months later in October, when a $1.8 billion Powerball ticket was sold at Midway Market in Frazier Park. Earlier this month, a representative of that group was identified by lottery officials as Theodorus Struyck.

All four of the largest Powerball jackpots ever were won in California, including the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history — a $2.04 jackpot won in November 2022 by Edwin Castro. When it comes to Mega Millions, Californians haven't been quite as lucky, with only two wins in the game's top 10 prizes ever.

If one person wins Monday night's top prize, the lucky winner can take the lump sum cash value - an estimated $483.8 million - or receive 30 annual payments.

Good luck!