BEULAH - Depending on who you are, you might hope the state's newest lottery winner is male, female, possibly single, or best of all, married to you and just keeping a half-million-dollar surprise.

Whoever has the $552,098 winning lottery ticket purchased at the Cenex in Beulah either isn't telling yet, or doesn't know, according to Cenex manager Joey Bogers.

"We have absolutely no idea who it is," Bogers said. He said the phone's been ringing off the hook with people wanting to verify the winning number or find out who the winner is.

Bogers said his station has sold three big winners in the past, and all three happened to live in Zap

The odds on the fourth one being from Zap have to be right up there with, well, the chances of winning the lottery.

Bogers said the winner can remain anonymous by presenting himself at the state lottery office at the state attorney general's office.

He said the Cenex gets a fair amount of drive-through traffic, so the winner could just as likely be from out of state as anywhere in Coal Country.

"I hope it's somebody local that really needs it," he said.

The attorney general's office said the winning Wild Card 2 was drawn Saturday. The winner has 180 days to claim the cash prize, but it's recommended that he or she contact the lottery at 328-1574 as soon as possible.

Lottery Director Chuck Keller suggests that anyone who wins a large cash prize sign the ticket before claiming the prize. "Unless you sign a ticket, anyone who has the ticket can claim the prize," Keller said.

Four states - North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Idaho - participate in the Wild Card 2 game. North Dakota lottery players have won six of the last nine Wild Card 2 jackpots - more than $2.1 million.

Another lucky player won $50,000 playing Powerball. Because the winning ticket was purchased with the Power Play multiplier, the usual $10,000 prize was multiplied by five times, making the prize worth $50,000. The winning ticket was purchased at Garrison Bay Express in Garrison.