Top Powerball winners are state funds

Published 8:09 am Friday, January 15, 2016

By Peter Cox

MPR.org/90.1 FM

A Minnesotan may not claim the $1.5 billion in Powerball winnings, but several state funds hit the jackpot.

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Lottery players in the state purchased $49 million worth of Powerball tickets. The beneficiaries, which include Minnesota’s General Fund, the Game and Fish Fund and the Natural Resources Fund, took in about $21 million.

While there were high ticket sales in the state, not all players were Minnesotans, said Don Feeney, the Minnesota Lottery’s research and planning director.

“Our top-selling retailer for both last night’s draw and for the run was in Grand Portage, Minnesota: Ryden’s Gas, which is the first retailer across the border from Thunder Bay, Ontario,” Feeney said. “So, thank you Canada.”

The airport had the second-highest Powerball ticket sales during the streak, Feeney said.

Minnesota lottery players won more than $6 million during what was a record-setting run.

“Particularly last night when we sold about $18 million in tickets for that drawing alone,” Feeney said. “The previous record was Saturday night, which was $13 million, and before that it was $10 million set back in 2012. So, all of our sales records were totally blown out of the water.”

From Nov. 7, 2015, through Saturday, $399,470 in Powerball tickets sold in Mower County — $325,532 of that in Austin, according to the Minnesota State Lottery.