Top 5 luckiest places to buy a Minnesota lottery ticket

FOX 9 reports that the Minnesota Lottery has released a list of the five lottery ticket outlets that have sold the most winning tickets since July 2010:

1. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

2. Cub Foods, St. Paul, 1440 University Ave W

3. Orton Moorhead Food Mart, Moorhead, 725 30th Ave. S

4. M & H Gas, St. Paul, 721 Arcade St.

5. Rainbow Foods, Minneapolis, 2919 26th Ave. S

FOX 9 chats with Jennie Carlson at the bustling airport lottery kiosk, noting that her venue is likely tops due to sheer volume – she sells more tickets than other outlets.

Despite what might look like a metro-area bias in the top-5 list, lottery officials say an analysis of winner location reflects proportionate sales volumes across the state.

The list's No. 4 venue just sold another winner, a $89,251 ticket, the Lottery announced Tuesday:

One of the biggest lottery winners in state history was Paul White, 45, who won a $149 million share of a $448 million Powerball jackpot in August. He bought his ticket in Ham Lake.

The Minnesota Lottery last year recorded $520 million in sales in its multiple games, the highest in the lottery's 22-year history, according to a report. About $124 million was funneled to state programs.

The state lottery in its frequently-asked-questions tackles what it says is a myth – that you're more likely to be struck by lightning than win the lottery: "Every year, many people win $1 million or more playing North American lotteries than are killed by lightning. In a lottery, you win lesser amounts of money by coming close to the winning numbers. In many games, odds of 1 in 5 or 1 in 4 are not uncommon."

The lottery adds: "In addition, there’s no second prize in a lightning strike."