Minnesotans Buy Up Powerball Tickets As Jackpot Soars To $900M
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Powerball jackpot soared to $900 million Saturday morning.
The winning numbers drawn late Saturday were 16, 19, 32, 34 and 57 with a Powerball of 13.
Lottery retailers around the state were trying to keep up with demand. The Minnesota State Lottery says Powerball sales totaled $8,643 per minute.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292 million, but the odds are much better for the smaller cash prizes.
Several stores around the state have a history of selling winning tickets worth $10,000 or more.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is a traveler's first stop towards a final destination. It has earned another distinction in the last ten years as one of the luckiest Powerball retailers in the Twin Cities.
Behind the security checkpoint sits a lottery kiosk that has sold five tickets of $10,000 or more.
"If it's a lucky spot, who knows, maybe it's my turn," Minneapolis resident Jeff Apfelbacher said. "If the airport's the place, I guess it's where you need to buy them."
You do not need to book a flight to access the Kwik Trip off Palomino Drive in Apple Valley.
"Every time I come here, I win something," Prior Lake resident Robert Brown said.
This convenience store also has a history of the bigger payouts. The store has sold five $10,000-or-higher tickets since 2006.
"I bought two with 'Powerplay,'" Brown said. "I hope I win. I'm going to come back this afternoon and buy more."
The Holiday StationStore off Industrial Boulevard in northeast Minneapolis has turned a $2 purchase into thousands for four customers.
Outside the metro, three stores have a history of selling winning tickets.
Cashwise Foods on Waite Avenue in Waite Park, Kwik Trip on Salem Road in Rochester and the Neighbor Stop on Owen Street in Stillwater have all sold four tickets of $10,000 or more.
Lottery officials say the main reason these stores are so lucky is because they have a high volume of Powerball ticket sales. If a store sells more tickets, the chance that they will produce a big winner increases.
But, in a game of luck, buying the winning ticket comes down to chance, and any of Minnesota's lottery retailers could sell the jackpot winner.
"The other day, when it went over $500 million, I said I'd play. I was happy when no one won and now I'm playing again," Minneapolis resident Kevin Stanton said. "We're almost a billionaire. I can make myself a billionaire overnight."
The last time a jackpot winner was sold in Minnesota was in 2013 at a Holiday store in Ham Lake.
