Purchasing a lottery ticket can be fun because while the odds are you won't be a big winner, the truth of the matter is that somebody has to win so why not see if it's your lucky day?

Over the years, I've made my fair share of donations to the Minnesota Lottery without hitting it big, but that doesn't mean I'll stop trying on occasion, especially since there are so many different games to try.

One option is the Gopher 5 lotto game. Gopher 5 is a Minnesota-only lotto game that is drawn around 6:17 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tickets are $1 per play, with a jackpot that starts at $100,000 and grows until won. The Minnesota Lottery notes that a portion of every dollar played helps protect Minnesota’s great outdoors.

Recently, the Gopher 5 jackpot surpassed $600,000 and someone in Minnesota had a very lucky day.

Big Gopher 5 Jackpot Winner Reported

On Friday, August 09, 2024, the Gopher 5 jackpot had grown to $646,501.That evening the following winning numbers were drawn: 3-12-15-24-26. Those lucky numbers just happened to be on a ticket purchased in Bemidji, Minnesota.

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The $646,501 Gopher 5 winning ticket was purchased in Bemidji Petro Serve USA, located at 2470 Paul Bunyan Drive NW.

As of August 13, the Minnesota Lottery had that big win listed as unclaimed. Hopefully whoever won the jackpot hears the news and still has that winning ticket in their possession.

Unless they decide to come forward publicly, we may never know who that person is. Lottery regulation changes took place to protect winners who win over $10,000. Big-money winners can become targets for scammers and fraud, so the Minnesota Lottery will not divulge their name unless they first agree to it.

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