$1M lotto winner drove from MN to NY and back without realizing he won
For one week, Greg Anderson had a Powerball ticket in his wallet, as he drove to and from New York in his truck, that would make him a millionaire.
And he didn't even realize it.
Anderson, a truck driver from Hermantown, bought a couple of Powerball tickets from a Duluth Holiday back on March 18, at the start of his weeklong work trip out east. That same night, he matched the first five numbers in the drawing, meaning he was in line for $1 million, the Minnesota Lottery said in an email release.
Only he didn't realize it. Not that night, not the next day, or even the one after that.
It was only when he got back home from New York a week later that he realized a $1 million ticket had been on him the entire work trip.
He told the Minnesota Lottery he plans to use the money for retirement, calling himself a "saver by nature."
The Duluth store that sold the winning ticket (the Holiday at 5430 Grand Ave.) will get a $5,000 bonus.
Buy a ticket but not sure if you won? Check unclaimed prizes
Right now, there are people who have won hundreds of thousands of dollars through the Minnesota Lottery – but haven't claimed their prize.
You have a year to claim any ticketed lottery prize. Otherwise it expires and you lose out on the money.
So go to the unclaimed prizes section of the Minnesota Lottery website to see when winning tickets were sold, and where. And if you might have bought one, but don't realize it.
Where does lotto money go?
About 25 percent of money people spend on Minnesota Lottery games goes back to the state.
Of that money, about 40 percent of it is directed to environmental protection efforts, while the remaining 60 percent goes to the state general fund. That money can be used for a number of different things.
The Minnesota Lottery says, up to this point, the state has gotten more than $2.6 billion through lottery spending.
