Lottery sales in Iowa along the Minnesota border are up since the Minnesota lottery office was closed in the state budget shutdown, reports the Des Moines Register.

Southern Minnesota residents hoping for a windfall, and maybe some laid-off Minnesota state workers, apparently are fueling the rise.

Said Iowa Lottery Vice President Mary Neubauer: “We have checked with locations in a few different communities that are along the major highways that run between Iowa and Minnesota, and stores there are seeing an increase in Iowa Lottery sales.”

The paper said a convenience store along Interstate Highway 35 near Northwood, just south of Albert Lea, Minn., reports lottery sales have more than doubled.

And a store in Estherville reports a 30 percent increase in instant-scratch and lotto sales since the Minnesota shutdown.

Minnesota’s lottery office was not considered an essential state service and remains closed during the shutdown.