Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Powerball Jackpot Winner Worth $731 Million Sold in Maryland
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
January 21, 2021

Share

LONACONING, Md. — The jackpot-winning Powerball ticket worth $731.1 million was sold in a struggling coal mining town whose biggest previous claim to fame was being the hometown of baseball legend Lefty Grove, the Maryland Lottery announced on Thursday.

Coney Market, a convenience store in the Allegany County town of Lonaconing, will receive a $100,000 bonus from the Maryland Lottery for selling the ticket to the fifth-largest lottery prize in U.S. history.

It had been more than four months since anyone won the Powerball, allowing the game’s jackpot to grow so large. An even larger Mega Millions jackpot will be up for grabs Friday night.

Just who will collect the prize may never be known: Maryland is one of the states that allows winners to remain anonymous. But keeping quiet about such a huge windfall could prove difficult if the ticket was bought by a local. Lonaconing is a town of about 300 families that’s well off the beaten track, with a poverty rate of more than 22 percent, well above the national average.

“We’re really happy for somebody,” Richard Ravenscroft, the store’s owner, told The Associated Press by phone. “We don’t know who it is yet.”

Coney Market, named for what locals call their town, is in a standalone building more than a century old, along Maryland’s Route 36. It’s a place where people can eat hamburgers and submarine sandwiches in a small seating area that draws its share of regulars.

A former coal mining town, Lonaconing doesn’t have a lot of money. Ravenscroft said there is still some strip mining in the area, although that’s winding down because of environmental concerns, and the remaining factory, a pulp and paper company, shut down recently after going through a series of buyouts. Another company is coming in that plans to hire about 200 people to make something out of wood chips, he said.

The Powerball Jackpot Came Only a Day After Nobody Won the $970 Million Mega Millions Prize

“I can’t wait to congratulate the person. I just hope whoever has won it uses it wisely and that other people benefit from it,” he said.

Ravenscroft, for his part, wants to expand the store’s kitchen and serve real meals, like mashed potatoes and gravy. Perhaps the bonus can help with that.

Lonaconing’s previous biggest winner was Robert Moses Grove, known as Lefty Grove, who pitched 17 seasons in the big 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 only a day after nobody won the $970 million Mega Millions prize, the third-largest prize in U.S. history.

Winning numbers for Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing were: 40-53-60-68-69 and a Powerball of 22.

It was the first time both lottery jackpots topped $700 million. The biggest prize was a $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot won by three people in 2016.

No one had won either of the jackpots since mid-September, allowing the prizes to grow steadily for months. Such a long stretch without a winner is rare but also reflects the incredibly small odds of winning — 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball and 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Millions.

The prizes listed 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 the Powerball win, the new jackpot has a $15 million cash value.

Those prizes also would be subject to federal taxes, and most states would take a cut as well.

Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball also is offered in Puerto Rico.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

DON'T MISS

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

DON'T MISS

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

DON'T MISS

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

DON'T MISS

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

DON'T MISS

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

DON'T MISS

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

UP NEXT

Long Wait Is Over for Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Other Draft Prospects Joining the NFL

UP NEXT

Golden State’s Jimmy Butler Injured in Game 2 Loss, His Status for Game 3 Unknown

UP NEXT

Jalen Green Makes Eight 3s to Help Rockets Even Series With Warriors

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Directs Investigations Over Gender-Affirming Care

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Cancels Hundreds of Grants for Police, Crime Victims

UP NEXT

Yelich’s 5th Career Slam and Bauers’ 2-Run Homer Power the Brewers to Win Over the Giants

UP NEXT

Happ Hits Game-Ending Single in the 10th as the Cubs Rally Past Dodgers

UP NEXT

Trump: No Plans to Fire Fed Chair Powell, but Wants Lower Rates

UP NEXT

Top Producer at ’60 Minutes’ Quits Amid Trump Lawsuit Pressure

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

7 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

8 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

8 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

8 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

9 hours ago

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

9 hours ago

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

10 hours ago

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

10 hours ago

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

10 hours ago

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

11 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Yastrzemski and Matt Chapman homered as the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Thursday ...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

5 hours ago

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

6 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an 'Unleashing American Energy' event at the Department of Energy in Washington, U.S., June 29, 2017. (REUTERS File)
7 hours ago

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

8 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

Chickens sit at a poultry farm. March 12, 2025. (REUTERS/Diego Vara/File Photo)
8 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

8 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

Candi, GV Wire's Adoptable Cat of the Week
9 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend