Mega Millions player just misses $77 million jackpot in California — but still wins big

A Mega Millions ticket sold in California just missed the $77 million jackpot but won $54,869, lottery officials said.

The ticket matched four of five winning numbers plus the Mega Ball in the drawing Tuesday, Feb. 4, the California Lottery said.

A ticket sold in New York City won $1 million.

Nobody won the grand prize, which rises to an estimated $94 million, with a cash option of approximately $42.3 million, for the next drawing Friday, Feb. 7, the national Mega Millions site said.

In California, lottery prizes are adjusted based on the number of tickets sold and number of winners.

The winning numbers were 14, 24, 31, 53 and 54 with a Mega Ball of 1, the lottery said. The Megaplier multiplier was 3x.

Nearly 385,000 other tickets sold in the United States won prizes ranging from $2 to $30,000 in the drawing, the lottery said.

The Mega Millions jackpot was last hit Jan. 17, when an Arizona player won the $112 million grand prize, lottery officials said.

What to know about Mega Millions

To score the jackpot in the Mega Millions, a player must match all five white balls and the gold Mega Ball. The odds of scoring a jackpot prize are 1 in 302,575,350.

Tickets cost $2 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state. Officials have announced they will cost $5 starting in April.

Drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 10:14 AM with the headline "Mega Millions player just misses $77 million jackpot in California — but still wins big."