Biggest lotto win, yes. But before $1.26B jackpot, luck struck in this part of California

Last Friday’s news that someone bought a Mega Millions ticket worth $1.26 billion in Cottonwood is not the first time a lucky lottery ticket worth big bucks has been purchased in far Northern California.Probably the largest lottery jackpot ever to hit in Shasta County before last week's big news was a $76 million California SuperLOTTO Plus ticket sold at the Circle K on Shasta Dam Boulevard in Shasta Lake in February 2009.Claiming the winning loot were 15 Gateway Unified School District employees. Each member of the lucky group netted about $2.3 million, according to state lottery officials.Steve Gray, then assistant principal at the Shasta Lake School, told the Record Searchlight that the group of teachers and workers had been pooling their money to play the lottery since 2002."The most fantastic thing about the win is that we have really good people, all of them hard-working educators, and now they get to realize their dreams," Gray told lottery officials at that time. "This just couldn't get any more perfect."For selling the winning the ticket, Circle K market winners received a check for $380,000, which was one-half of one percent of the jackpot, according to a Record Searchlight story.Winning Powerball ticket sold in Dorris, CaliforniaMeanwhile, in the tiny Siskiyou County town of Dorris, a winning Powerball ticket worth $1.65 million was purchased at Lane’s Market in September 2014.And it’s not the first time Cottonwood has been ground zero for a lottery ticket worth at least six figures, albeit it was pocket change compared to what unfolded Friday.Luck struck twice in CottonwoodIn March 2012, a winning Mega Millions ticket matched five out of five regular lottery numbers but did not match the Mega number in the game. The winning ticket was worth about $260,000, and was bought at the Texaco in Cottonwood, according to state lottery officials.Shasta County nurse buys Scratchers and winsThere's also the recent case of a Shasta County nurse who won $1 million. In November, Stacy Hagberg, won her fortune after purchasing $10 scratch-off games.And the Lottery Scratchers game also was lucky for a Happy Valley couple who claimed a $2 million prize in May 2010.The lucky $1.269 billion Mega Millions ticket — updated from $1.22 billion last Friday — was purchased at the Circle K Sunshine Food and Gas market at the corner of Rhonda Road and Gas Point Road, off Interstate 5, in Cottonwood. The winning jackpot is the fifth-largest jackpot in that game’s history.The Sunshine Food and Gas market owners stand to receive up to $1 million for selling the winning ticket."It's exciting, but we're more excited about the community of Cottonwood and for making national headlines, putting Cottonwood in front of people, but we're excited for the winner," said Ishar Gill, who with his family, gave interviews Saturday from their market.According to state lottery officials, the person who bought the winning ticket has one year from the date of the draw (Dec. 27, 2024) to claim the winning ticket.