News writer
A man in Minnesota went from a Lotto America winner to a Lotto America jackpot winner in the blink of an eye.
The lucky man recently won $2 playing Lotto America, which he purchased at Cub Foods in Roseville. Instead of taking the $2 and walking away, he decided to purchase two more tickets.
That was definitely the right decision, as one of those tickets matched all six winning numbers in the March 4 drawing and the man hit the $3.73 million jackpot. The winning numbers for that draw were 4, 5, 8, 22, and 47, and the Star Ball was 6. For selling the winning ticket, Cub Foods earned a $10,000 bonus.
From $2 to $3.73 million
The winner checked his ticket on the morning of March 5 and told the Minnesota Lottery he “was in disbelief.” He told the Lottery that he “double-checked the numbers” and then texted his friend and told them to call him. The winner added, with a laugh, “I told them not to tell anybody, but you know how that goes.”
On March 5, the lucky man turned in his winning ticket at the lottery headquarters in Roseville. Lotto America jackpot winners can choose to either claim the prize as one lump sum cash payment or take the annuity option, which consists of 30 payments made over 29 years. This winner came back the next day and chose the cash option, which gave him $1.78 million right away.
So, what do you do when you win almost $2 million dollars? This lucky guy said he was going to pay off his mortgage and be debt free. He added, “I will probably buy a new car, too.”
Lotto America — how does it work?
Lotto America is a multi-state game offered in 13 states: Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The tickets cost $1 and players can win from nine prize categories in the Lotto America game, including the jackpot that starts at $2 million.
To play, you need to pick five numbers from 1 to 52, and then pick a Star Ball number from 1 to 10. For $1 more, the player can add the All Star Bonus option, which is a randomly-drawn number that can multiply non-jackpot winnings by 2, 3, 4, or 5 times.
Lotto America drawings are held Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 9:20 p.m. and tickets must be purchased by 9 p.m. on drawing days.
Anonymous jackpot winners in Minnesota
For jackpot winners in Minnesota, they are automatically kept anonymous. The odds of winning a jackpot in Lotto America are about 1 in 25.9 million. With that in mind, this is the third time Minnesota has had a jackpot winner since the game launched in 2017.
In Minnesota, the first Lotto America jackpot winner was on July 10, 2019. That jackpot winner claimed $21.6 million and the winning ticket was purchased at Holiday Stationstore #395 in Ramsey. The second Lotto America winning jackpot was worth $22.8 million and the winning ticket was purchased at a Holiday Stationstore in Roseau on March 14, 2018.
Enjoy playing the Minnesota Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
