Stillwater man claims $2 million Powerball lottery prize

A Stillwater man claimed a $2 million Powerball prize from last week's drawing, which also yielded a jackpot payout 384 times larger in suburban Milwaukee.

Mark Armstrong contacted the Minnesota Lottery and confirmed that his ticket matched the first five numbers drawn last Wednesday but failed to match the Powerball number.

Coming that close normally would mean winnings of $1 million. But Armstrong, along with another fortune hunter in Kansas, doubled the prize to $2 million because the tickets included the Power Play option for an additional $1.

Armstrong bought his ticket at the Holiday gas station at 2500 Orleans St. in Stillwater. The retailer earns a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

Typically, lottery officials talk a bit about the winner's background, disclose the winner's plans for the money and distribute a photograph of the lucky person to the news media.

"The winner didn't want to participate in any photos or interviews, and we do our best to respect their wishes," said Minnesota Lottery spokeswoman Emily Frost.

The net sum pocketed will be adjusted downward for tax purposes and should the winner choose to take the loot in a lump sum, rather than spread it out over a number of years.

The winning numbers were 16-20-37-44-62, with 12 as the Powerball.

The winning ticket for the $768.4 million jackpot was sold in New Berlin, near Milwaukee. That winner has yet to step forward.

That total is the third-largest behind the world record $1.59 billion Powerball jackpot shared by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee in January 2016, and the $1.54 billion Mega Millions jackpot won in South Carolina last October.

Powerball is played in 44 states, plus Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.