2 Iron Range stores with same owner sell big Powerball payouts in same drawing

Two stores on the Iron Range with the same owner each sold tickets worth $250,000 for a Powerball drawing last week, lottery officials announced.

The winning tickets were sold at Short Stop convenience stores about 70 miles apart at 1815 E. Sheridan St. in Ely and at 1121 E. Howard St. in Hibbing. The Short Stop chain, based in Virginia, Minn., has 17 outlets across the Iron Range and in Duluth.

The holders of the winning ticket bought in Hibbing are many, 22 in all. They all work in a county building in town or at the St. Louis County Courthouse, which is across the street from where the ticket was purchased. No word yet on who holds the lucky ticket bought in Ely.

The ticket holders in Wednesday's drawing matched four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball number, which is normally worth $50,000. But because they added the Power Play multiplier option for an extra $1 at the time of purchase, their prizes were multiplied by 5 to $250,000 each.

The winning Powerball numbers for Jan. 10 were 7-24-33-49-50 and the Powerball was 4.

Paul Walsh