A Mankato woman won $25,000 a year for the rest of her life from a ticket she purchased Monday at a Mankato convenience store that is itself on quite a lucky streak.
In the past two months, three people have claimed prizes on winning tickets they bought at a Mankato Quick Mart. A $1 million prize from the Minnesota Millionaire Raffle was claimed Jan. 2 and the winner of the All or Nothing lottery claimed a $1,000 prize on Jan. 15, according to a news release from the Minnesota State Lottery. Catherine Smith claimed her prize Tuesday, the release said.
Quick Mart manager Jenny Swanson said she hopes the convenience store's reputation for selling winning tickets will help boost business.
"It's been very exciting," Swanson said, adding that the convenience store sold a winning ticket a few years ago as well.
Minnesota joined Lucky for Life, a multistate lottery, in January, said lottery spokeswoman Marie Hinton, making Smith the state's first winner in that game.
Smith's winnings amount to nearly $17,000 a year after taxes, which can vary over the years, Hinton said.
The money will be paid out for the rest of Smith's life — or, if she dies within the next 20 years, the money will go to her estate until the 20-year minimum has been reached.
Winning tickets for the third-largest Powerball ever were sold in Puerto Rico, North Carolina and Texas, meaning the three winners will likely split the $546 million. They can claim their prize starting Friday and choose between a single payment of about $101.6 million or 30 payments over 29 years.
