5 Winners, Most Ever, to Share $23.5-Million Lotto Jackpot

An unprecedented number of lotto players, five to be exact, will split a $23.5-million jackpot after they all picked the correct six numbers in the midweek drawing, lottery officials said today.

The winners, who will each receive about $4.7 million, purchased their tickets in Fremont, Hawthorne, Palmdale, Chula Vista and El Cajon. They will get their prizes in annual payments of $188,000 after taxes for 20 years.

Lottery spokesman Bob Taylor said it was the first time five winners hit the same jackpot. Four winners split the top prize on May 11, 1987, he added.

The only winner to come forward today and have a prize verified so far is Theresa Adams of El Cajon, an administrator at a San Diego construction company.

Eight players hit five numbers, plus the bonus number, to each win $328,094. The prize pool was more than $2.6 million.

There were 501 players who picked five of six numbers and will each receive $2,699. The prize pool was more than $2.3 million.

The 2,552 players who hit four of six numbers will each get $47. The prize pool was more than $1.2 million.

There were 30,753 players who selected three of six numbers, for an automatic prize of $5 each.

The winning numbers picked Wednesday night for the California Lottery’s twice-weekly “Lotto 6-49” game were: 32, 20, 10, 17, 40, 1. The bonus number was 31.

Sales from Saturday night to the drawing were $24.8 million.

The numbers were chosen by a machine during a television broadcast originating in Sacramento.