Last Big Powerball Winner

The most recent winning Powerball jackpot from February 6, 2010, worth $141,400,000 (annuity), was won on a single ticket in North Carolina.

MARCH 10, 2010 — Scott Garrick and Stephen Rondeau of Duluth won $500,000 by playing the Lottery’s $500,000 Grand Fortune scratch game.

Express Stop, located at 4701 E. Superior St. in Duluth, sold the winning ticket.

MARCH 9, 2010 — Lee Grimmer and Henry Lasser of Elk River started playing Mega Millions when the game went on sale in Minnesota on Jan. 31. The couple purchased a four-line ticket for the March 5 drawing. They added the Megaplier multiplier option for an extra $1 per play.

As they were on their way to the grocery store the next morning, Grimmer noticed that the billboard reported the Mega Millions jackpot at $12 million, so she knew somebody won the jackpot the previous night. She went to the ticket checker at the customer service desk to scan the ticket while Lasser started shopping. “It said to claim the prize at the Lottery,” Grimmer recalled. “I signaled Henry to tell him we won something. I told him not to get too excited — we may have only won $1,000.”

After the couple returned home, Grimmer went online to get the winning numbers. “I spotted the first number and followed them across,” she said. She told Lasser, “‘We didn’t get the Mega Ball but we won $1 million!’ We grabbed each other and fell to our knees.”

While the couple claimed their $1 million prize on March 8, Lasser said, “I can’t believe this. It makes everyday life a bit easier.” Grimmer added, “I don’t think we’ve stopped smiling. We look at each other and start laughing!”

MARCH 9, 2010 — When Adam Metz of Shoreview stopped at Holiday Stationstore, located at 9025 Quaday Ave. N.E. in Otsego, he decided to trade in a couple of winning scratch tickets that he had in his pocket for another ticket. He chose the Red White & Blue^™ Slots scratch game and won the game’s top prize — $200,000!

He discovered the win after he left the store. Since a friend was driving, he was able to scratch the ticket. “I didn’t think I really won. I showed three different people and then stopped in another retailer to scan the ticket. It started sinking in when the message said something like, ‘See Lottery ticket office.’ My friend’s jaw dropped,” Metz recalled. “I was shocked. I’m still in shock.”

MARCH 9, 2010 — Gregory Gordon of Chisago City won a $100,000 prize by playing the Lottery’s Wild Cherry scratch game.

Gordon claimed the prize at the Lottery’s headquarters in Roseville on March 8.

Federated Co-ops, located at 10575 Wyoming Ave. in Chisago City, sold the winning ticket.

MARCH 9, 2010 — Barb Schultz of Grand Rapids initially thought she won $100,000 by playing the Lottery’s Puzzle Book; however, after she finished playing all eight scratch games in the book, she uncovered not only one $100,000 prize — but three — to win the game’s $300,000 top prize!

Schultz purchased the winning ticket while on her lunch break on March 5. She was originally planning on buying a $3 crossword scratch game, but decided to “splurge” for the $20 Puzzle Book, which includes a couple of crossword games as well as other games. “I thought, ‘What the heck?’ Why not give it a try. It seemed like a good value for all the extended-play games.”

When she began scratching the ticket, she uncovered a $100,000 prize on the second game in the Puzzle Book. “I couldn’t believe it,” recalled Schultz. “I called my husband and nearly gave him a heart attack!”

 When Schultz got home from work later that day she called the Lottery’s headquarters to inquire about how to claim the prize. “They told me they didn’t have a $100,000 prize in that game. My heart sank — I didn’t think I had a winner. They asked if I finished playing the other games on the ticket and I said ‘no.’” Schultz immediately began scratching the rest of the ticket and uncovered two more $100,000 winners to win one of the game’s $300,000 top prizes.

“My husband and I had to make a lot more phone calls after we realized we won $300,000,” she said. “We were very, very happy with $100,000 but we were elated with winning $300,000!”

Schultz claimed the prize at Lottery headquarters in Roseville on March 8. SuperAmerica, located at 901 E. 4^th St. N.E. in Grand Rapids, sold the winning ticket.

MARCH 9, 2010 — Bloomington resident Diana Cracauer won a $100,000 prize by playing the Lottery’s Wild Cherry scratch game.

Cracauer claimed the prize at the Lottery’s headquarters in Roseville on March 5.

SuperAmerica, located at 826 W. 66^th St. in Richfield, sold the winning ticket.

FEBRUARY 23, 2010 — Jack Searcy of Corral City, Texas won $34,392 by playing the Lottery’s Northstar Cash game. Searcy purchased the winning ticket at Motor Mart, located at 4905 W. Highway 13 in Savage.

The fourth line of Searcy’s five-line quick-pick ticket matched all five numbers drawn on Feb. 19, 2010 (1-2-22-26-27) to win the jackpot.

Searcy said that he found out that he’d won the day after the drawing by having his ticket scanned at a Lottery retailer. When a message printed advising that the prize would have to be claimed at the Lottery office, Searcy guessed that he’d probably won around $500. He was surprised to find out that he’d won the $34,392 jackpot.

“I was excited,” he recalled. His plans to celebrate the win are simple: “Buy another ticket,” he said.

Searcy claimed the prize at the Lottery’s headquarters in Roseville on Feb. 22.

FEBRUARY 19, 2010 — Geri Lynn Fontanilla of Spring Lake Park won $100,000 by playing the Lottery’s $100,000 Hold ’Em Poker^® scratch game.

The $5 scratch ticket was a “last-minute splurge” for Fontanilla and her husband who each bought a ticket at Cub Foods, located at 585 Northtown Drive in Blaine, on Feb. 17. “It isn’t something I do very often,” she said. “But I was in the mood to treat myself.”  

The couple scratched the tickets when they got home later that day. The first ticket was a $5 winner and the second ticket revealed a much bigger reward — the game’s $100,000 top prize. Since then, Fontanilla says, “It’s been nothing but great thoughts.”

She claimed the prize at the Lottery’s headquarters in Roseville on Feb. 18. The couple says they are looking forward to paying off their bills and indulging in the “simple things.” Geri Lynn is excited to get her nails professionally done, while her husband is planning on buying a new pair of sneakers. “That’s going to be our big day,” she said with a smile.

FEBRUARY 18, 2010 — Kim Lokken of Otsego claimed an $88,739 Northstar Cash jackpot. All five numbers on his ticket matched the winning numbers drawn on Feb. 13 (5-6-10-19-29).

Coborn’s, located at 19425 Evans St. N.W. in Elk River, sold the winning ticket.

FEBRUARY 12, 2010 — Elmer and Linda Salo of Milaca won the $428,397 Gopher 5 jackpot from Wednesday’s (Feb. 10) drawing. The second line of the Salo’s two-line quick-pick ticket matched all five numbers drawn (9-14-18-27-31) to win the jackpot. The couple claimed the prize at the Lottery’s headquarters in Roseville on Feb. 12.

Circle 9, located at 106 - 9^th Ave. S. Circle in Princeton, sold the winning ticket.

FEBRUARY 3, 2010 — Faith Vernlund of Plymouth claimed a $46,818 Northstar Cash jackpot. All five numbers on her ticket matched the winning numbers drawn on Feb. 1 (2-8-11-21-31).

Vernlund and her husband, John, started playing Northstar Cash in December 2009. John checked the Lottery’s Web site after the drawing and recognized the winning numbers right away. “I ran out of the room and told my wife, ‘I think we won!’ She didn’t believe me.”

Faith said that John has joked that someday he was going to tell her that they won as a joke, so she didn’t believe him right away. “He said, ‘Go check! Go check!’ Then I saw that we really did win!”

SuperAmerica, located at 7818 - 36^th Ave. N. in Crystal, sold the winning ticket.

FEBRUARY 3, 2010 — Marilyn Kennedy of Caledonia won $100,000 by playing the Lottery’s Money Tree scratch game.

Kraus Oil Company Inc., located at Highway 44 and W. Washington St. in Caledonia, sold the winning ticket.

Kennedy claimed the prize at the Lottery’s headquarters in Roseville on Jan. 29.

FEBRUARY 1, 2010 — Richard Lee of St. Cloud won a $77,777 Lottery prize by playing the Sizzlin’ 7s scratch game.

“You can’t believe your own eyes,” he recalled after discovering his big win. Lee’s win came as a result of an unexpected event on Jan. 27 that landed him at Coborn’s/Little Dukes, located at 1725 Pinecone Road S. in Sartell, where he stopped to pick up a bouquet of flowers for his wife who was in the hospital. While there, he decided to try his luck on a couple scratch tickets.

Later that day, Lee discovered that one of the Sizzlin’ 7’s tickets he purchased was worth $77,777. “I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I had to go back to the retailer to have them check it.” After his win was confirmed, his uncertainty was gone.   

Lee and his wife arrived at the Lottery’s headquarters in Roseville on Jan. 29 to claim the prize. “It’s strange how things happen,” Lee said. “If she was never in the hospital, I would have never bought that ticket. It really was a fluke.”

Lee said he plans to take his family to Disney World and do some home improvement projects with his winnings.

JANUARY 20, 2010 — James Clinton of Richfield says he’s been playing scratch games for years. “I finally hit it big!” he exclaimed as he claimed a $100,000 prize that he won by playing the $100,000 Hold ’Em Poker® scratch game on Jan. 19.

“It couldn’t have been better timing,” he explained. “I wanted to help out with the Haiti relief and now I can.”

Clinton purchased the winning ticket at Holiday, located at 8946 Lyndale Ave. in Bloomington.

JANUARY 15, 2010 — The Northstar Cash jackpot was won by residents of Wright County two days in a row. Thomas Schultz of Otsego (pictured left) won $29,000 on Jan. 12 and Shirley Kerr of Annandale won $25,000 on Jan. 13. Schultz purchased his winning ticket at Coborn’s, 5698 LaCentre Ave. N.E. in Albertville, while Kerr’s winning ticket was bought at The Marketplace, 660 Elm St. E. in Annandale.

“Northstar Cash is my game of choice,” says Schultz. “I figured one of these days I was going to win something.” That day was Jan. 12, when the first set of numbers on his two-line quick-pick ticket matched the numbers drawn (1-5-10-16-31) to win the $29,000 jackpot.

After he discovered he won $29,000, Schultz said, “My nine-year-old son was eating breakfast and asked, ‘Did you win?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He asked, ‘How much?’ I said, ‘$29,000.’ He said, ‘Did you really?’ I had to fire up the computer again to check my numbers!” Schultz said with a laugh.

JANUARY 12, 2010 — On the morning of January 7, David Solum of Hawick purchased a newspaper and a Northstar Cash ticket for that night’s drawing. Early the next morning he went online to check his numbers. The numbers drawn matched the numbers on his ticket. “I had to read it four times!” Solum exclaimed. Solum initially thought he won $25,000, but then learned that he won half of the $103,226 jackpot.

Solum purchased the winning ticket at H&L Express, 907 W. Minnesota St. in Paynesville