November 1988: Fifty-seven percent of Minnesota voters approve a constitutional amendment to authorize a state lottery.
May 1989: The Minnesota Legislature passes legislation to start a lottery and splits the proceeds evenly between the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund and the Greater Minnesota Corporation (GMC).
April 17, 1990: Minnesota State Lottery starts selling instant tickets.
May 1990: The Legislature changes the way Lottery proceeds are distributed: 40 percent for the trust fund, 35 percent for the Infrastructure Development Fund and 25 percent for the GMC.
Aug. 13, 1990: The Lottery reaches $100 million in sales, distributing about half in prizes.
Aug. 14, 1990: The Lottery launches its first two numbers games simultaneously with the debut of Daily 3 and Lotto*Minnesota, a multi-state game.
November 1990: With 75 percent of the vote, Minnesotans dedicate 40 percent of Lottery proceeds to the trust fund until 2001.
Nov. 13, 1990: The Lottery awards its first Lotto*Minnesota jackpot, $18.5 million, to Rita Oberg of Roseville.
May 22, 1991: The Lottery starts Minnesota's Own Cash Lotto, Gopher 5.
June 1991: The Legislature changes how Lottery proceeds are divided up: 40 percent for the trust fund and 60 percent for the state General Fund.
April 19, 1992: The multi-state Powerball game replaces Lotto*Minnesota.
May 13, 1992: Bob and Nadine Lewis of Burnsville win $12.5 million and become Minnesota's first Powerball jackpot winners.
June 18, 1993: The Lottery reaches $1 billion in total sales.
October 2, 1993: George Shabatura of New Hope becomes Minnesota’s second Powerball jackpot winner ($8 million).
Feb. 26, 1994: Noel and Lynn Olson of Plymouth win the largest jackpot in Minnesota State Lottery history -- a 20-year Powerball annuity worth $28.3 million.
March 2, 1994: Duane Peterson of Moose Lake becomes Minnesota’s fourth Powerball jackpot winner ($2 million).
July 1, 1995: The Lottery board is abolished by the state Legislature.
May 6, 1996: The Lottery surpasses $2 billion in total sales.
May 18, 1996: Carl Imhof of Pine Island becomes Minnesota’s fifth Powerball jackpot winner ($9.5 million).
May 29, 1996: Hilde Yanz of Hastings becomes Minnesota’s sixth Powerball jackpot winner ($8.5 million).
June 30, 1996: The Lottery celebrates the end of its sixth fiscal year with record sales of $375.6 million.
March 1997: The Lottery releases its first scratch 'n' sniff instant ticket, Cinnamon Toast.
August 6, 1997:Charlie Jasmer of Verndale becomes Minnesota’s seventh Powerball jackpot winner ($5 million).
Nov. 2, 1997: Powerball is redesigned, starting jackpots at $10 million, increasing lower-tier prizes and giving players the choice of receiving the jackpot as a 25-year annuity or in a single check (cash option).
Jan. 31, 1998: Gopher 5 is redesigned; a Bonus Ball is added for new prize levels.
March 21, 1998: Ralph and Darlene Collier of Montgomery win the state's first cash option Powerball jackpot: $14.9 million, the largest lump-sum prize ever won in Minnesota.
March 30, 1998: The Lottery launches the multi-state daily numbers game Cash4Life.
June 30, 1998: The state Legislature increases the retailer commission from 5 percent to 5.5 percent and adds a 1 percent bonus for cashing tickets.
July 29, 1998: A $250 million Powerball jackpot shatters the record for the highest jackpot in the history of lotteries. A single winning ticket sold in Indiana won the prize. Minnesota sets a record for the most sales for a single drawing: $7.6 million.
Sept. 26, 1998: Ron and Jenny Cronkhite of Moorhead become Minnesota’s ninth Powerball jackpot winners ($49.3 million jackpot, winners chose cash option of $28.4 million).
Oct. 8, 1998: Ron and Jennie Cronkhite of Moorhead win the state’s largest prize ever, a cash-option Powerball jackpot worth $28.4 million.
June 30, 1999: Farrah Slad of Brainerd becomes Minnesota’s tenth Powerball jackpot winner (jackpot of $150 million, Slad chose the cash option of $78.8 million).
Oct. 30, 1999: John and Sandy Wynne of Oakdale become Minnesota’s eleventh Powerball jackpot winners (jackpot of $61.1 million, winners chose cash option of $31.0 million).
March 4, 2000: Keith and Carol Goergen of Elgin become Minnesota’s twelfth Powerball jackpot winners (jackpot of $150.1 million – shared with winners in Kansas and Missouri, each winner receives $50 million annuity or cash option of $25.9). The Goergens chose the cash option.
Aug. 16, 2000: James and Sharon Lewis of Eagan became Minnesota’s thirteenth Powerball® jackpot winners (jackpot of $22.9 million, they chose the $11.9 million cash option).
Sept. 9, 2000: Multi-state game Rolldown makes its debut featuring a prize structure where jackpot money rolls down to lower tier prizes whenever the jackpot isn't won.
March 7, 2001: The Power Play option is added for Powerball players who want a chance to juice up their non-jackpot winnings.
Aug. 25, 2001: Sheryel Hanuman of Minneapolis became Minnesota’s fourteenth Powerball® jackpot winner. Hanuman claimed 1/4 of the $295 million jackpot. She selected the $41.4 million cash option. Ticket holders in Kentucky, Maine (purchased in New Hampshire) and Delaware also claimed shares.
Dec. 1, 2001: Jeff Holmberg of Richfield became Minnesota’s fifteenth Powerball® jackpot winner. Holmberg won a $29.4 million jackpot (he selected the $16.7 million cash option).
March 11, 2002: Over $1 billion for the state of Minnesota has been generated by the Minnesota State Lottery.
April 6, 2002: Rolldown™ ends.
April 7, 2002: Hot Lotto™ sales begin.
April 10, 2002: Hot Lotto fills the niche between Gopher 5 and Powerball offering jackpots starting at $1 million.
October 6, 2002: Powerball® matrix changed from 5 of 49 and 1 of 42 to 5 of 53 and 1 of 42.
March 1, 2003: The Minnesota State Lottery’s daily drawing show gets a new look. A digital drawing system replaced in-studio draws.
October 7, 2003: Northstar Cash™ launches.
October 27, 2003: A group of 16 from the Holdingford area who called themselves “the Happy Huskers” won half of a $190.9 million jackpot ($99.5 million cash option) This was the sixteenth Powerball® jackpot won in Minnesota. Regina Mandabach of Washington, Indiana claimed the other half of the jackpot. Each winning ticket was worth an estimated $95.4 million or $49.7 million (cash option).
February 3, 2004: G3™ Games launch.
July 7, 2004: Jackie and Jim Lagoon of Stillwater became Minnesota’s seventeenth Powerball® jackpot winners. The couple won a $21.1 million jackpot (they selected the $11.1 million cash option).
July 17, 2004: The Lottery announces a record contribution of $100 million to the State of Minnesota during fiscal year 2004.
August 14, 2004: Mary Beth and David Wenell of Eden Prairie became Minnesota’s eighteenth Powerball® jackpot winners. The couple won a $98.6 million jackpot (they selected the $53.1 million cash option).
September 15, 2004: Mary and Bob Mikkelson of Holmen, Wisconsin won a Hot Lotto jackpot worth $6.46 million (cash option). The annuity option was worth $10.8 million. The winning ticket was purchased in Minnesota.
