LONACONING, Md. (AP) – The $ 731.1 million jackpot-winning Powerball ticket was sold in a tough mining town whose greatest previous fame was the birthplace of baseball legend Lefty Grove, the Maryland Lottery announced Thursday.
Coney Market, a convenience store in the town of Lonaconing, Allegany County, will receive a $ 100,000 bonus from the Maryland Lottery for ticket sales for the fifth largest lottery prize in US history.
It had been over four months since anyone had won the Powerball, which allowed the game’s jackpot to get that big. An even bigger Mega Millions jackpot will be there for the taking on Friday evening.
Who will pick up the prize may never be known: Maryland is one of the states where winners can remain anonymous. But keeping quiet about such a massive windfall could be difficult if the ticket was bought by a local. Lonaconing is a city of about 300 families that is well off the beaten track, with a poverty rate of over 22 percent, well above the national average.
“We’re really happy for someone,” Richard Ravenscroft, the store’s owner, told The Associated Press by phone. “We don’t know who it is yet.”
Named for what the locals call their town, Coney Market is located in a detached building over a century old, along Route 36 in Maryland. It is a place where people can eat burgers and sandwiches submarine in a small sitting area that attracts many patrons.
Lonaconing, a former mining town, doesn’t have much money. Ravenscroft said there is still some mining in the area, although it is winding down due to environmental concerns, and the remaining plant, a pulp and paper company, recently closed after a series of buyouts. Another company comes in that plans to hire about 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 that other people benefit from it, ”he said.
Ravenscroft, for his part, wants to expand the store’s kitchen and serve real meals such as mashed potatoes and gravy. Maybe the bonus can help with that.
Lonaconing’s previous biggest winner was Robert Moses Grove, known as Lefty Grove, who pitched 17 seasons in the major leagues, 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.
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 both 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, allowing the prizes to grow steadily for months. Such a long trajectory without a winner is rare, but it also reflects the incredibly low odds – 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball and 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Millions.
Prizes listed are for winners who choose an annuity option, paid out over 30 years. Most winners will opt for cash prizes, which would be $ 716.3 million for Mega Millions and $ 546.8 million for Wednesday’s Powerball. After the Powerball win, the new jackpot has a cash value of $ 15 million.
Those prices would also be subject to federal taxes, and most states would receive a discount 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.