ENCINO, Cali. (KTLA) — In December, a $395 million Mega Millions jackpot was won by two tickets sold in California. Though not unheard of, the victory was rare: the same gas station sold both tickets.
The owner of one of those winning Mega Millions tickets sold at an Encino Chevron station has come forward, California lottery officials announced Tuesday.
F. Lahijani came forward to claim their portion of the $395 million jackpot prize. The California Lottery didn’t share whether he chose the annuity or cash option.
The Chevron station on Ventura Boulevard also received a “record-breaking bonus check” of $1.9 million for selling both winning tickets nationwide for that Mega Millions cycle.
“California Lottery retail partners who sell any ticket that wins $1 million or more earn a bonus of half of one percent of the prize value up to a million dollars,” a news release said.
“This was only made possible by the fact that the same store sold two jackpot-winning tickets over two separate transactions,” Carolyn Becker, California Lottery spokesperson, said in a statement. “This has never happened before, and we want to congratulate the owners of this particular retail location!”
Both Lahijani and the owners of the Chevron declined to speak to the media.
How did the same gas station sell two winning tickets?
Unfortunately, we don’t know. Becker said in December that that would remain unknown until the prize has been claimed, but the California Lottery did not provide any additional details about Lahijani and his victory.
It’s possible the second winner, who has yet to be confirmed, will provide an explanation. That could, however, be weeks or even months away, as the California Lottery performs a thorough investigation into potential jackpot winners.
The second winner has a year from the draw date — December 8, 2023 — to claim their portion of the prize, which totals $197,500,00. The overall jackpot ranks as the fourth-largest Mega Millions payout won in 2023.
California has seen a similar situation before. In December 2020, a 7-Eleven in Vallejo sold two winning tickets for SuperLotto Plus, according to a press release. To make it even more surreal, the prize was claimed by two different players with the same last name.
Interested in testing your own luck? The next Mega Millions drawing is set for Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET.
Tickets for the $2 game are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
