Mega Millions $395 million mystery: Two winning tickets bought from same Encino store
/
Last Friday’s Mega Millions $395 million jackpot was won with two identical tickets.
Even more surprising–they were both bought at the same store.
This event marks the first time in California's history that a Mega Millions jackpot has been won in this way.
The two winning Mega Millions jackpot tickets were sold at the same Chevron station on Ventura Blvd in Encino, Los Angeles County, during Friday night's draw.
The winning numbers matched all 6 winning numbers; 21, 26, 53, 66, 70, and the gold ball 13.
The winners would have to share the $395 million jackpot.
Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the California Lottery, talked about this unusual event.
"While this is incredibly unusual and interesting, it’s not unheard of," she said.
Multiple tickets
Becker said there were several theories, including the possibility that one person might have bought multiple tickets.
Or a group of friends decided to try their luck with the same numbers.
"We won’t know exactly how this happened until the prize is claimed," Becker added.
The California Lottery is keeping details under wraps to ensure a thorough security review process.
"That’s one of the questions our law enforcement team will ask anyone who comes forward," Becker explained.
She emphasized the importance of verifying the legitimacy of the winners, saying, "Only legitimate winners know the answers to some of our most important questions during the standard vetting process.”
“It’s one of the ways we determine that the person who claims the prize is, in fact, the rightful winner."
While this event marks the first time in California's history that a Mega Millions jackpot has been won like this, it has happened before.
Double winning
In December 2020, a 7-Eleven store in Vallejo sold two SuperLotto Plus tickets that matched five numbers, each winning over $8,000.
These tickets were claimed by two different players who shared the same last name.
Across the nation, there have been cases of people winning big by playing the same numbers on different tickets.
For example, the player above in Virginia bought 20 winning tickets with the same numbers and won $100,000.
And another story tells of a Maryland player who hit the jackpot with 15 tickets.
