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Minnesota Lottery Live

Minnesota players have won more than $7 billion since ticket sales began in 1990, and the lottery has generated over $3 billion for programs that support good causes statewide, including education, health, public safety and the environment.

Minnesotans enjoy a range of games exclusive to the state, including Daily 3, Gopher 5 and Northstar Cash. Minnesota also participates in big-dollar multi-state games such as Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto America, and Lucky for Life.

On this site, you can check the latest numbers, game information and prize breakdowns for Minnesota’s in-state and multi-state draw games. Play smarter with extra features including a frequency chart, SmartPicks, Jackpot Analysis and more.

Minnesota Lottery Games

The MN Lottery offers a number of great games exclusive to the state as well as interstate lotteries

Gopher 5

Gopher 5 is a homegrown Minnesota favorite offering a jackpot that starts at $100,000 and keeps rolling until someone hits it. Each play costs $1.00.

  • How to play: Choose five lucky numbers from 1 to 47.
  • Drawing schedule: Drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:17 pm CT. Ticket sales close at 6:10 pm.
  • How to win: Win the top prize if you match all five numbers drawn by the lottery .

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Northstar Cash

Northstar Cash is a shining example of a Minnesota original, with a jackpot that starts at $25,000, the best odds of any MN lotto game, and tickets that cost just a buck.

  • How to play: Pick your favorite five numbers from 1 to 31.
  • Drawing schedule: Drawings are held every evening at 6:17 pm CT. Ticket sales close at 6:10 pm.
  • How to win: Hit the jackpot if you match all five winning numbers.

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Daily 3

Daily 3 offers the chance to win up to $500 seven days a week and your choice of wager – $0.50, $1.00 or more.

  • How to play: With a variety of bet types, including the popular Straight-Box, there’s something for everyone.
  • Drawing schedule: Drawings take place every evening at 6:17 pm CT. Ticket sales are open until 6:10 pm.
  • How to win: Win by matching one, two, or three numbers, depending on your bet type.

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Powerball

One of the world’s most famous lotteries offers a multimillion-dollar starting jackpot that keeps growing until it’s won. Not only that, there’s a second prize of $1 million, plus seven other prize tiers. Add Power Play to multiply non-jackpot wins.

  • How to play: Pick five main numbers from 1 to 69 and one Powerball number between 1 and 26.
  • Drawing schedule: Drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday night at 9:59 pm CT (10:59 pm ET). Ticket sales close at 9:00 pm CT.
  • How to win: Win the jackpot by matching all five main numbers and the Powerball number.

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Mega Millions

Featuring some of the biggest prizes in the U.S., Mega Millions offers a jackpot that often grows into the hundreds of millions. Add the Megaplier option to multiply prizes below the jackpot.

  • How to play: Select five main numbers from 1 to 70, and one Mega Ball number between 1 and 25.
  • Drawing schedule: Drawings take place every Tuesday and Friday night at 10:00 pm CT (11:00 pm ET). Ticket sales close at 9:00 pm CT.
  • How to win: Win the jackpot by matching all five main numbers plus the Mega Ball number.

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Lotto America

This multi-state game offers the chance to win a $2 million minimum jackpot that keeps growing until it’s hit, plus eight other prize levels.

  • How to play: Pick five main numbers from 1 to 52 plus an extra Star Ball number from 1 to 10. Multiply non-jackpot wins by adding the All Star Bonus Number option.
  • Drawing schedule: There are two chances to win every week, on Wednesday and Saturday nights at 10:00 pm CT. Sales close at 9:00 pm.
  • How to win: Win the top prize if you match all five main numbers and the Star Ball number drawn by the lottery.

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Lucky for Life

Lucky for Life might tempt you if you like the sound of a top prize of $1,000 a day, every day, for life. The second prize is $25,000 a year for life, and there are also eight further prize levels.

  • How to play: Choose five lucky numbers from 1 to 48 and one Lucky Ball number from 1 to 18.
  • Drawing schedule: Drawings are held every Monday and Thursday night at 9:38 pm CT. Ticket sales run until 8:10 pm.
  • How to win: Win the grand prize if you match all five main numbers and the Lucky Ball.

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Scratch Games

If you just can’t wait for the next drawing to get the chance to win, try a scratch-off game. Tickets are printed from the lottery terminal on demand whenever you feel like playing for the thrill of a cash prize.

How to Claim Minnesota Lottery Prizes

Are you a lucky Minnesota Lottery winner? Here’s what you need to know to correctly claim your prize before it expires.

First things first – make sure to sign the back of your ticket right away and keep it in a safe place.

For lotto game prizes (that is, draw games like Powerball or Gopher 5), players have one year from the date of the winning draw to claim. For scratch tickets, prizes expire one year after the official end of the game. If the one-year end date is a weekend or holiday, you’ll need to claim by the end of the following business day.

All winning tickets worth $50,000 and under can be claimed by mailing the signed ticket to the lottery. If you won $600 or more, you’ll also need to fill out a winner claim form. Retailers may also pay out wins of $599 and under. For prizes over $50,000, winners will need to call the lottery to discuss claim options.

For wins over $5,000, the lottery will deduct 24 percent for federal taxes and 7.25 percent for state taxes before the prize is paid. Winners who do not live in the state, including Canadians, will have the 7.25 percent state tax deducted from any big wins.

What happens to the money when a prize goes unclaimed? If the winner doesn’t cash their ticket by the deadline, the unclaimed prize money is contributed to the Minnesota General Fund. For multi-state Powerball and Mega Millions prizes, unclaimed wins are returned to the participating state s according to the percentage that they contributed to the prize fund.

For full details on how to redeem winning tickets, visit the where to claim prizes page.

Biggest Minnesota Lottery Winners

Check out the lucky Minnesotans who have taken home the largest jackpots in the state’s history.

  • August 10, 2011: Thomas and Kathleen Morris of Burnsville won the $228.9 million Powerball jackpot. The couple, who had been married 38 years at the time of their win, chose the cash payment of $123,602,685.09. “It started on Monday,” said Kathleen. “We met with our financial adviser and things didn’t look very promising. I told Tom the only way we’re going to retire is if we win the lottery.” On Wednesday, they did just that.
  • May 3, 2008: Paul and Sue Rosenau won the $180.1 million Powerball jackpot and selected the $88,020,951.40 cash option. The Rosenaus founded a nonprofit to find a treatment for the rare inherited condition, Krabbe disease, an incurable disorder that claimed the life of their granddaughter five years to the day before their win.
  • August 7, 2013: Paul White of Ham Lake won one-third of the $448.4 million Powerball jackpot ($149.4 million cash). He split the prize with the Ocean’s 16 group and Mario Scarnici, both of New Jersey. All the winners opted for the cash lump sum totalling $258,163,064.30 – $86 million each. White said he’s dreamed of winning the lottery “so many times in my head.” The 45-year-old engineer couldn’t believe he’d won and ran around the office asking all his co-workers to check his ticket.

The divorced father-of-two said, “I feel this pressure off my shoulders; that you carry every day with you. I have some kids. Am I going to be able to pay for them to go to college? Am I going to be able to take care of them if they have health issues? All these things; you don’t ever have to worry about them again. It’s amazing.”

  • August 14, 2004: Mary Beth and David Wenell of Eden Prairie won the Powerball jackpot of $98.7 million and chose the $53,118,608.53 cash payout. “I guess I’m a dreamer. I usually fail at this – every week, actually,” said David, a long-time lottery player. “It’s not a bad investment. It’s fun. Everybody needs to dream.” After buying the ticket, David left it on the dresser while the couple headed to their cabin for the weekend. When they got back, Mary Beth checked their numbers and “I heard some exclamations downstairs,” David said. Neither of them could sleep that night. The couple said at the time they would both retire and might buy a new cabin.
  • October 25, 2003: The Happy Huskers, a group of 16 Holdingford school co-workers, split the $190.9 million Powerball jackpot with Regina Mandabach of Indiana. The Huskers opted for the cash lump sum of $99,530,384.74. Their win came about after each of the 16 put just 25 cents from each paycheck into their lottery pool. 15 of the winners worked in the school cafeteria and one was a custodian.

    In 2017, one of the winners, Donna Lange, recalled that “I just said to them, ‘None of us will have to come to work on Monday, we are going to win the lottery,’ as I wrote down the numbers on a piece of scrap paper so I could take it home and check it.”

    The down-to-earth millionaires didn’t let their overnight windfall change them. “I think of the 16, everybody is pretty much the same and I think basically a good person,” said Lange. A few of the winners still work in the cafeteria serving lunch to the students.

  • November 1, 2006: Michael Hawes won half of the $94.1 million Powerball jackpot, splitting it with the Arizona 9 group. The Lakeville accountant decided to receive the cash option of $$44,335,812.17. Hawes unknowingly carried his winning ticket around in his wallet for five months – even taking it to New York – until he finally scanned it and learned he’d won. He immediately walked out of the grocery store as “my eyes teared up. It was hard to breathe,” he said. Amazingly, Hawes’ son, who was eight months old at the time and was born six weeks early, is named Lucky.
  • March 14, 2018: The Kujava family of Badger hit the $22.8 million Lotto America jackpot and chose to receive their win as a $13.5 million cash payout. Brother and sister Dennis and Debbie agreed years ago that if “one wins, we both win.” After Debbie purchased the ticket on her way home from work, she checked the numbers the next morning and at first thought it was worth $2 million. She showed up at Dennis’s house and told him, “We’re millionaires!” Initially, Dennis wasn’t sure what to believe. “Well, she does play tricks on me,” he said. “But I normally wouldn’t be at his house at 8 am,” Debbie pointed out. Finally, Dennis’s daughter Denise checked the ticket and realized what it was really worth. Debbie, Dennis, and his two adult daughters all split the $13.5 million cash lump sum.
  • July 11, 2019: Jeffery Love of Elk River won the $21.6 million Lotto America jackpot after dreaming about a big win for years. “I drive by the lottery office every day on my way to work and always say, ‘One day . one day,'” Jeffery said. When he checked his ticket, he couldn’t believe what he saw. He called his wife Vickie and said “‘We have a situation,'” he recalled. “I didn’t trust my eyes, I wanted to have Vickie look at it.” Vickie checked the numbers “eight or 10 times,” and it finally sunk in that the couple had really won.
  • July 7, 2004: Jackie and Jim Lagoon of Stillwater hit the Powerball jackpot of $21.1 million and took the $11,143,150.45 cash option. Real estate agent Jim was golfing when his wife Jackie called him with the amazing news that they’d won the lottery. Jim continued golfing but his mind was certainly not on the game as balls flew into the water and woods. But “I can buy more golf balls,” Jim smiled as the couple collected their prize.

    The Lagoons’ good luck was all thanks to Jackie’s watch. She meant to buy a ticket for that night’s Powerball draw, but her watch was a few minutes slow and she’d actually missed the cut-off time. Her ticket was entered in the next draw, resulting in the couple’s big win.

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    Rules

    Players must be at least 18 years old to purchase a Minnesota Lottery ticket, claim a prize, or participate in a contest.

    History

    The Minnesota Lottery was established in 1989 by an amendment to the state constitution and commenced ticket sales on April 17, 1990. Residents welcomed the lottery and the first week delivered $15 million in sales. Powerball tickets launched in August 1990 and Mega Millions followed in January 2010.

    Since its launch, the lottery has contributed over $3 billion to programs that benefit the state. More than $1.2 billion has helped to protect the environment and natural resources across all 87 counties, and $1.8 billion has been raised to support vital state programs such as education, health, and public safety.

    For every dollar spend on lottery purchases, approximately 25 cents goes to programs supporting Minnesota.

    Minnesota Lottery Live results for all state games including Minnesota Gopher 5, Northstar Cash, Daily 3 and Powerball & MegaMillions.