For immediate release:  Thursday, February 16, 2006
Contact: Mike Mueller, 773-5770

Rapid City Man Claims $68,995 Dakota Cash Jackpot;
Sisseton Man Wins $200,000 Powerball prize

(Pierre) – The two lottery players who won the biggest prizes in South Dakota in Wednesday night’s drawings today claimed their prizes.

Marvin Robinson of Rapid City matched all five numbers to win the jackpot in the state’s Dakota Cash lotto game. He claimed his $68,995 jackpot prize today at the Rapid City Lottery office.

Robinson, a custodian at the School of Mines, used family birthdates to pick his winning numbers. He said he recognized them immediately when he checked them on a computer at 1:00 a.m., but waited until 5:30 in the morning to call his wife to tell her the news.

The Safeway on Mountain View Road in Rapid City will receive a $3,450 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

Dakota Cash is played only in South Dakota. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1:324,632.

Norbert Jones, Jr. of Sisseton is the 103rd person to win Powerball’s second prize in South Dakota. Jones claimed his $200,000 prize for matching the five white balls, but not the red Powerball, today at the Sioux Falls Lottery office.

The CHS Cenex store in Sisseton will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning “quick pick” Powerball ticket.

Powerball is played in 28 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of winning the $200,000 second prize are 1:3,563,609. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1:146,107,962.

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