A lottery player who bought a ticket in Baxter, Minn., has won the largest Gopher 5 jackpot in the game’s 33-year history, snagging a prize worth more than $2 million.
In addition to beating the odds of 1 in 1,533,939, the player now holds the distinction of winning the largest non-multistate pot ever won in Minnesota, said Emily Frost, a spokeswoman with the Minnesota State Lottery.
The player who matched all five numbers in Wednesday evening’s drawing to win $2,045,590 has yet to come forward, lottery officials said. Prizes must be claimed within one year of the drawing at lottery headquarters in Roseville.
A Holiday gas station on Fairview Road in Baxter will get a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket with the numbers 16, 29, 25, 43, 46.
Until Wednesday, a group of 22 co-workers from the Watonwan County Highway Department and Public Works Department had won the largest Gopher 5 prize. They won $2,032,201 in a drawing on Nov. 8, 2005, after buying tickets in St. James, Minn., lottery officials said.
Gopher 5 is played only in Minnesota. Tickets cost $1 and players choose or are randomly assigned numbers from 1 to 47. Drawings are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Jackpots begin at $100,000 and grow until there is a winner.
Smaller prizes are awarded for matching two, three or four numbers.
