North Dakotans hoping to strike it rich set a one-day state record Wednesday by purchasing nearly $589,000 in Powerball lottery tickets.
State lottery director Chuck Keller said ticket sales in North Dakota went up dramatically in the hours just before the $340 million jackpot drawing Wednesday night.
"We were averaging about $1,034 in sales per minute," he said.
North Dakota Powerball players purchased 140,324 tickets Wednesday for the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot.
The winning ticket was sold in Jacksonville, Ore.
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Two North Dakotans won smaller prizes with a $10,000 Powerball ticket sold in Fargo and a $10,000 Hot Lotto ticket sold in Grand Forks.
The Fargo winner, who has not yet come forward, purchased the Power Play option, which multiplied the winnings to $50,000.
Statewide Powerball sales for the week of Oct. 13 to Oct. 19 set a record of over $1.4 million, state lottery media spokeswoman Eileen Walsh said.
Nearly 360,000 tickets were sold for the Saturday and Wednesday drawings. Purchases of multiple-play tickets and the Power Play option are added to total sales.
Ticket sales for all three of the state's lottery games reached $1.56 million for the week with 434,166 tickets sold.
The week's sales added an estimated $720,000 to prize funds and $420,000 to the state's general fund.
Lottery retailers across the state earned a combined $78,000 in ticket commission.
North Dakota's Lottery Division projects $36 million in ticket sales for the 2005-07 biennium, Keller said.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report. Readers can reach Forum reporter Teri Finneman at (701) 241-5560
