Local

California lottery wins delight with high-stake drama - 8 stories

Stories by Sacramento Bee journalists, with AI summarization

The curated articles discuss various California lottery wins and the general mechanics of lottery games in the state. The articles focus on individual victories, where the winners purchased their tickets, and details about the lottery games.

A Fantasy 5 winner in Anaheim scored over $180,000 by matching five numbers. Their ticket was sold at Orange Liquor Market. SuperLotto Plus crowned a $14 million winner in San Jose. The winning ticket matched the required five numbers plus the mega number. Two Powerball tickets in California narrowly missed the jackpot but still earned significant prizes. These tickets were bought at a gas station in San Jose and a liquor store in Pacheco. A Santa Barbara player won the Fantasy 5 jackpot selling at the local Red Sand Market. The article details where the ticket was sold and the winning process.

Nobody won the grand prize, which rises to an estimated $133 million, with a cash value of about $60.3 million.

NO. 1: PLAYER HAS TO DOUBLE-CHECK $1 MILLION CALIFORNIA LOTTERY WIN. ‘IT WAS REAL’

A California Lottery player had to double-check his winning scratchers ticket before celebrating his $1 million win, officials said. | Published November 4, 2025 | Read Full Story by Don Sweeney

A pile of U.S. dollar bills of varying denominations.

NO. 2: MEGA MILLIONS PLAYER MISSES $800 MILLION JACKPOT — BUT WINS BIG IN CALIFORNIA

A Mega Millions player in California won $60,664, just missing the $800 million jackpot, lottery officials said. | Published November 5, 2025 | Read Full Story by Don Sweeney

A pile of U.S. dollar bills of varying denominations.

NO. 3: LOTTERY TICKET SOLD IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WINS $167K. WHERE WAS IT PURCHASED?

A lottery ticket sold in Northern California hit the Fantasy 5 jackpot, according to lottery officials. | Published November 7, 2025 | Read Full Story by Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado

Background of many hundred dollar bills

NO. 4: SUPERLOTTO PLUS PLAYER WINS $14 MILLION IN CALIFORNIA. WHERE WAS TICKET SOLD?

A SuperLotto Plus player in California won the $14 million jackpot, lottery officials say. | Published November 9, 2025 | Read Full Story by Don Sweeney

The federal government tracks awards like grants, loans and contracts in communities across the United States. Here’s what those grants fund in Horry County, South Carolina.

NO. 5: FANTASY 5 PLAYER HITS $180,000 JACKPOT IN CALIFORNIA. WHERE WAS LUCKY TICKET SOLD?

A Fantasy 5 player in California won the $180,317 jackpot, lottery officials say. | Published November 9, 2025 | Read Full Story by Don Sweeney

A pile of U.S. dollar bills of varying denominations.

NO. 6: POWERBALL PLAYERS WIN BIG IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. HERE’S WHERE TICKETS WERE SOLD

Two Powerball tickets sold in California won $609,497 each, just missing the $549 million jackpot, lottery officials say. | Published November 17, 2025 | Read Full Story by Don Sweeney

Nobody won the grand prize, which rises to an estimated $133 million, with a cash value of about $60.3 million.

NO. 7: NORTHERN CA MAN WINS $5 MILLION LOTTERY SCRATCHER JACKPOT. ‘COULDN’T BELIEVE IT’

A Northern California man is $5 million richer thanks to a winning lottery ticket, according to California State Lottery officials Edy Giron Ruiz of Sebastopol, which is about a 55-mile drive northwest from San Francisco, scratched the Maximum Millions Scratchers ticket at a gas station on his way home from work, lottery officials said in a Monday, Nov. | Published November 18, 2025 | Read Full Story by Don Sweeney

A longtime lottery player’s luck finally changed in the Maryland Powerball, winning them a big prize.

NO. 8: POWERBALL PLAYERS MISS $633 MILLION JACKPOT IN CALIFORNIA — BUT STILL WIN BIG

Two Powerball tickets sold in California fell just one number short of winning the $633 million jackpot, lottery officials said. | Published November 24, 2025 | Read Full Story by Don Sweeney

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.