Bemidji Man Wins $1.5M Gopher 5 Jackpot
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Bemidji man who used the same five numbers for 18 to 20 years found out he won a $1,550,322 Gopher 5 lottery jackpot.
The Minnesota Lottery says the winner, Mark Church, used the numbers 4-5-9-26-27, which are a combination of his and his mother's birthdays. On June 15, those numbers were drawn as the winning Gopher 5 numbers.
Church checked the numbers at 1:30 a.m. June 16 when he couldn't sleep.
"I knew right away I won," Church said. "I knew it was at least $1,000,000. I couldn't call anybody at that time so I texted a friend in California."
Church claimed the price at the Minnesota Lottery headquarters in Roseville on June 17.
"It was a long night, waiting for daytime" to tell people about his big lottery win, Church said.
A Holiday Stationstores Inc. in Bemidji sold the winning ticket.
