LONACONING, Maryland (AP) – The $ 731.1 million Powerball jackpot winning ticket was sold in a struggling coal mining town whose biggest pre-fame claim was the birthplace of baseball legend Lefty Grove, announced the Maryland lottery on Thursday.
Coney Market, a convenience store in the town of Lonaconing, in Allegany County, will receive a $ 100,000 Maryland Lottery bonus for selling the ticket to the fifth largest lottery prize in the history of the United States.
More than four months have passed since someone won the Powerball, allowing the game’s jackpot to grow so much. An even bigger Mega Millions jackpot will be at stake on Friday night.
You may never know who will receive the award: Maryland is one of the states that allows winners to remain anonymous. But being quiet about this unexpected windfall can be difficult if the ticket was purchased by a local. Lonaconing is a city with about 300 families that is well off the beaten path, with a poverty rate of over 22%, well above the national average.
“We are very happy for someone,” Richard Ravenscroft, the store owner, told The Associated Press by phone. “We still don’t know who it is.”
Coney Market, named for what locals call their city, sits in an independent building that spanned more than a century, along Maryland’s Route 36. It is a place where people can eat hamburgers and submarine sandwiches in a small seating area that attracts its regular clientele.
An old coal mining town, Lonaconing doesn’t have much money. Ravenscroft said there is still some mining in the area, although it is declining because of environmental concerns, and the remaining mill, a pulp and paper company, recently closed after undergoing a series of acquisitions. Another company is arriving and plans to hire about 200 people to do something with wood chips, he said.
“I can’t wait to congratulate the person. I just hope that whoever wins uses it wisely and that other people benefit from it, ”he said.
Ravenscroft, meanwhile, wants to expand the store’s kitchen and serve real meals, such as mashed potatoes with sauce. Perhaps the bonus can help with that.
Lonaconing’s biggest previous winner was Robert Moses Grove, known as Lefty Grove, who launched 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 highest prize in the history of the United States.
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 prizes reached $ 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 increase continuously for months. Such a long period without a winner is rare, but it also reflects the incredibly small chances of winning – 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball and 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Millions.
The listed prizes 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 Powerball’s victory, the new jackpot has a cash value of $ 15 million.
These premiums would also be subject to federal taxes, and most states would accept a cut as well.
Mega Millions and Powerball are played in 45 states, as well as in Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands. Powerball is also offered in Puerto Rico.