Minnesota Just Sold Its Biggest Lottery Ticket Ever

Many of us have likely dreamed of winning millions of dollars in the lottery, but for one Minnesotan, that dream is now coming true, as a record-setting lottery ticket worth over $34 million was sold in Minnesota!

The Minnesota Lottery has been around for over 35 years, having sold its first lottery tickets back in 1990. Since then, playing the lottery, whether it’s Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto America, or your favorite Minnesota Lottery scratch-off game, has become a fairly popular pastime here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. 

How Popular Is the Minnesota Lottery?

The Minnesota Reformer says approximately half of adults in Minnesota– over 50 percent– reported buying lottery tickets at least once a year, with about 3 percent playing weekly, according to a 2020 report from the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

SEE ALSO: Here Are the Biggest Powerball Winners EVER in Minnesota

On average, the Minnesota Lottery says it pays out over 76,000 prizes a day. And that adds up to a lot of money. In a story I recently wrote about the Lottery’s 2025 annual report, there were 25,627,462 total lottery prize winners in Minnesota last year, with the whopping figure of $379,818,139.76 in prizes paid out.

$34.12 Million Lotto America Ticket Sets Minnesota Record

But that number is now set to get even bigger for 2026, since the Minnesota Lottery said Monday that a winning Lotto America ticket worth $34.12 million was sold right here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes! KSTP reports that the winning ticket— a Minnesota state record– was sold in Coon Rapids for the July 18th Lotto America drawing.

Lotto America said Sunday that the winning ticket– the first this year– was the only one nationwide to match all six numbers drawn on July 18th. The winning numbers were 13, 17, 22, 28, 40, and the Lotto America Star Ball® was 3. The All-Star Bonus® multiplier was two. The lucky winner will have the choice to receive the $34.12 million prize as an annuity, paid out as 30 increasing payments over 29 years, or a lump sum payout of $15.15 million, Lotta America said.

But wait, there’s more: That massive jackpot winner wasn’t the game’s only big winner in Minnesota. A second Minnesota Lottery player won a $20,000 cash prize after matching the first five numbers drawn Saturday night, Lotto America said.

Minnesota Lottery Winner Can Keep Their Name Private

Both prize winners now have a year to claim their incredible prizes. But finding out *who* won those prizes is a little trickier in the North Star State, thanks to a new law that went into effect in September of 2021. According to the Minnesota Lottery, the 2021 law now allows lottery winners of cash prizes greater than $10,000 to keep their names—and their cities—private, unless they explicitly opt in to publicity.