$15 million lottery scratchers ticket purchased in the Bay Area

KTVU Vault: California Lottery launches in 1985

The California Lottery launched in September of 1985. As lottery players hope to win this week's Powerball jackpot, here's a look back at a piece of California's lottery history.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A Bay Area business sold a winning $15 million lottery scratchers ticket that cost $40 to play.

What we know:

The golden ticket was sold at Mike’s Liquor on Snell Avenue, near Tuscarora Drive in San Jose, California State Lottery officials announced on Monday.

Officials identified the winner as Nardin Daniloadeh, who received the windfall for playing the 40 Years of Play! Scratchers game.

Mike’s Liquor is also a winner. The business will see a bonus of 0.5% of the prize, or $75,000, for selling the ticket, lottery officials explained to KTVU.

Commemorative game

The special, limited-time commemorative game was released a year ago to mark the California State Lottery’s 40th anniversary.

While the ticket costs $40 to play for a chance to win the top prize of $15 million, there is a companion $2 version of the game offering players chances to win up to $40,000.

The odds of winning the top prize are 1 out of 3,046,299, according to the state lottery website.

Daniloadeh won the 2nd of seven total $15 million jackpots in the game.

Dig deeper:

The Bay Area win yielded the biggest prize among recent scratchers wins, which totaled $26 million, lottery officials said.

Most of the winning tickets were sold in Southern California: a $5 million win from the 100X Scratchers game in North Hollywood; two $2 million scratchers wins, one in Pomona in Los Angeles County and one in Camarillo in Ventura County.

Another $2 million winner bought a scratchers in Modesto at Sharp Liquor on Crows Landing Road.

A 40 Years of Play! Scratchers ticket worth $15 million was sold in San Jose, Calif. state lottery officials announced on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (California State Lottery )

Lottery San Jose News Instanews