Happy new year to Minnesota's 2 new millionaires, whoever you are
The new year brought a new million dollars to a couple of Minnesota lottery players.
One of the Minnesota State Lottery's games is a raffle, with winners picked once a year on Jan. 1. Lottery officials announced in an emailed news release Sunday that the two million-dollar tickets for 2017 were sold in Pine City (at the Rock Creek Pit Stop on Highway 70) and in Coon Rapids (at a KwikTrip on Springbrook Dr.).
Five other ticket buyers won $100,000 and altogether more than 4,000 people won something.
The winning ticket numbers are here.
Besides the cash, winners also get bonus prizes, which last year included pickup trucks, trips to resorts, and shopping sprees.
Raffle players paid $10 for each ticket and were trying to match one of the winning six-digit numbers.
1/4 of lottery proceeds go to the state
Under the Minnesota law that governs the lottery, a quarter of every dollar spent on the games goes to the state.
Much of that goes to funds for environmental projects with the rest going into the general fund, lottery officials say.
They say the raffle game has been going for a decade and has generated $27 million for Minnesota.
