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Neal Wanless won the $232.1 million Powerball jackpot in 2009, chose a one-time cash payment, and put his attention on ranching. He later acquired South Dakota’s 47,883-acre Bismarck Trail Ranch and developed it into a cattle and farming operation. The property sold for a reported $37 million in December 2022; available accounts do not establish what Wanless has done since.
How much did Neal Wanless actually receive?
The South Dakota Lottery said Wanless claimed the jackpot on June 5, 2009, after the May 27 drawing. Though the headline jackpot was $232.1 million, he selected the one-time cash prize of $118,005,530. The Lottery reported that after federal tax withholding, the prize payment would be $88,504,147, excluding an additional $100 won on the same ticket. Those are distinct figures: the jackpot headline was not the cash-option amount or the payment after withholding. South Dakota Lottery, June 5, 2009.
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Why did he keep ranching after the win?
Wanless was 23 when he claimed the prize and was still working on his family ranch. The winning ticket was one of five plays on a $5 ticket purchased at an Ampride store in Winner while the family was traveling to buy feed. The lottery windfall began during an ordinary errand tied to ranch life.
At the claim announcement, Wanless told the South Dakota Lottery, “I just want to go home and ranch and ride horse and check cows.” He also said he hoped to have “a bigger ranch of our own.” His stated goal, then, was not to leave ranching but to pursue it on a larger scale. South Dakota Lottery.
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What did Wanless build at Bismarck Trail Ranch?
The Land Report says Wanless acquired the 47,883-acre Bismarck Trail Ranch and worked to develop it into a cattle and farming operation. Hall and Hall later described it as a nearly 50,000-acre working ranch. The property represented the larger ranching venture he had described wanting after the win. The Land Report; Hall and Hall.
Hall and Hall characterized the operation as lucrative, and its listing agent, Robb Nelson, called South Dakota “a booming market and an extremely ag-friendly state.” Those are brokerage and agent assessments, not independently verified financial results. The published accounts cited here do not provide audited statements or an independent measure of the ranch’s profitability. Hall and Hall.
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For how much did the ranch sell?
Hall and Hall listed Bismarck Trail Ranch in 2020 for an asking price of $41.15 million. That was not the eventual sale price. The Land Report says the ranch closed in December 2022 for a reported $37 million—more than twice what Wanless had paid for it in 2009. The listing and closing figures describe different stages of the transaction. Hall and Hall, 2020; The Land Report, 2023.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does Wanless still run the ranch?
No available account establishes that he still owns or operates Bismarck Trail Ranch: the reported December 2022 sale marks the end of his documented ownership of that property. The sources cited here do not establish his current residence, other ownership interests, business activity, or plans after the sale. It would be inaccurate to describe him as still running Bismarck Trail Ranch based on these accounts. South Dakota’s Secretary of State also notes that LLC ownership is not filed with its office, so a business filing alone would not prove who owns an LLC. South Dakota Secretary of State, Corporations.
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