A lucky — or at least very fortunate — Mega Millions ticket sold at a Corona del Mar CVS matched the five white balls in Friday’s Dec. 5 drawing and will pay out just over $5.1 million.
The winning numbers were 34, 38, 42, 44 and 69 with Mega Ball 8. No one hit the full jackpot, which was an estimated $50 million for that drawing; the top prize rolls to about $60 million for the Tuesday, Dec. 9 drawing.
Where the big ticket was sold
Lottery officials say the ticket that matched the five white balls was purchased at the CVS on East Coast Highway in Corona del Mar, Orange County. Because the ticket matched the five white balls but missed the Mega Ball, it won a large secondary prize instead of the jackpot.
Across most states, matching all five white balls (but not the Mega Ball) yields a $2 million prize before any multiplier. But California has its own twist: the state pays major prizes on a pari‑mutuel basis, meaning the final payout depends on ticket sales and how many winners there are. In this case the ticket’s base amount was reported as $2,552,480 and, with the ticket’s 2X multiplier, the payout doubled to $5,104,960.
Why the payout looks different in California
Mega Millions now includes a built‑in multiplier that can be 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 times the non‑jackpot prizes. That multiplier is randomly assigned at purchase. Outside California, a match‑5 with a 2X multiplier would typically be shown as $2 million (the standard base) multiplied according to the assigned factor. California’s pari‑mutuel system means the base amounts can differ from the national flat tiers, and doubling that California base produced the $5.10496 million figure reported by state lottery officials.
Odds remain astronomical: the chance of winning the jackpot is about 1 in 290,472,336. But as this sale shows, you don’t have to hit all six numbers for life‑changing money — sometimes five will do.
For would‑be players: Mega Millions drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday at night (11 p.m. ET). Tickets cost $5 per play and include the multiplier. If you buy through third‑party apps, be mindful of each service’s sales cutoff — modern ticketing features and scheduling are getting smarter (and more automated) thanks to new app capabilities and agentic booking developments in platform tooling. If you prefer in‑person shopping, a quick map lookup can help you find stores that still sell paper tickets; navigation tools are also evolving with helpful AI features like the conversational copilot in Google Maps that many people now use for quick errands.
If you think you’re holding a winner, check your state lottery’s official site for claiming instructions and deadlines — prize rules and anonymity options vary by state.
And yes: the jackpot didn’t hit Friday. It keeps climbing. But for one Corona del Mar ticketholder, the night ended with a seven‑figure surprise.