Winner of the Powerball jackpot valued at $ 731.1 million sold in Maryland



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LONACONING, Md. (AP) – The jackpot-winning Powerball ticket worth $ 731.1 million has been sold in a struggling mining town most famous for being the hometown of baseball legend Lefty Grove, the Maryland Lottery announced Thursday.

Coney Market, a convenience store in the city of Lonaconing, Allegany County, will receive a bonus of $ 100,000 from the Maryland Lottery for selling the ticket for the fifth largest lottery prize in US history. United.

It had been over four months since no one won Powerball, allowing the game’s jackpot to grow so big. An even bigger Mega Millions jackpot will be up for grabs on Friday evening.

We may never know who will win the prize: Maryland is one of the states that allows winners to remain anonymous. But keeping quiet about such a windfall could prove difficult if the ticket was bought by a local. Lonaconing is a city of about 300 families that is off the beaten track, with a poverty rate of over 22%, well above the national average.

“We’re really happy for someone,” Richard Ravenscroft, the store owner, told The Associated Press by phone. “We don’t know who it is yet.”

Coney Market, named after what locals call their town, is in a stand-alone building over a century old along Maryland’s Route 36. It’s a place where people can eat burgers and submarine sandwiches in a small seating area that attracts its share of regulars.

A former coal mining town, Lonaconing doesn’t have a lot of money. Ravenscroft said there is still some surface mining in the area, although it is ending due to environmental concerns, and the remaining mill, a pulp and paper company, recently closed. after suffering a series of redemptions. Another company comes in and plans to hire around 200 people to make something out of wood chips, he said.

“I can’t wait to congratulate the person. I just hope whoever won it uses it wisely and others benefit from it, ”he said.

Ravenscroft, on the other hand, wants to expand the store’s kitchen and serve real food, like mashed potatoes and gravy. Maybe the bonus can help.

Lonaconing’s former biggest winner was Robert Moses Grove, known as Lefty Grove, who pitched 17 major league seasons, nine with the Philadelphia Athletics and eight with the Red Sox. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947 and died in 1975.

The Powerball jackpot came just a day after no one won the $ 970 million Mega Millions prize, the third largest prize in US history.

The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s Powerball draw were: 40-53-60-68-69 and a Powerball of 22.

It was the first time that the two lottery jackpots exceeded $ 700 million. The biggest prize was a $ 1.58 billion Powerball jackpot won by three people in 2016.

No one had won any of the jackpots since mid-September, which allowed the prices to grow steadily for months. Such a long period without a winner is rare, but also reflects the incredibly low odds of winning – 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball and 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Millions.

The prices shown are for winners who choose an annuity option, paid over 30 years. Most winners opt for cash prizes, which for Mega Millions would be $ 716.3 million and $ 546.8 million for Wednesday’s Powerball. After the Powerball victory, the new jackpot has a cash value of $ 15 million.

These prices would also be subject to federal taxes, and most states would accept a reduction as well.

Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands. Powerball is also offered in Puerto Rico.

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