ialottery blog

Scratch Games And The Last Top Prize

There has been a lot of media coverage lately focusing on the issue of the top prizes in instant-scratch games and whether a game should remain on sale after the last top prize has been claimed. If you do a search, I’m sure you can find several examples of recent media coverage, but here is one example, a link to a USA Today article.

The Iowa Lottery has had a long-standing policy regarding the last top prizes in its scratch games. And interestingly, we’ve received inquiries from players on both sides of the issue.

We provide information about the prizes in our games in a lot of different ways, including in lists here on our Web site. If you click on the “Games” link along the left side of our site, you can find information about all the products we offer, including lists of our scratch games and the prizes remaining in them. 

When the last top prize in one of our scratch games has been claimed, the lottery’s computerized sales and validations system automatically sends out a message to all of the lottery terminals in the state, announcing that the last top prize has been claimed and any remaining tickets in the game should be removed from sale. The process of ending the game starts immediately.

New Lottery Help For Veterans

A new initiative that was more than two years in the making is off to a strong start with our first Iowa Lottery games to benefit veterans’ causes. Veterans from around the state joined in the kick-off celebration for the new games this summer at Camp Dodge in Johnston.

Gov. Chet Culver signed a new law (HF 2359) in March that authorizes the Iowa Lottery to create two new instant-scratch game and two additional games each year, with all profits (sales – prizes = profit) from the games dedicated to the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.

“Stars & Stripes,” the first instant-scratch game to benefit the Veterans Trust Fund, and “All American,” the first pull-tab game to benefit the fund, began sales in July. Tickets in both games cost $1 each and are proving to be popular with Iowa players.

The Lottery estimates that the new games will generate between $2 million and $3 million in proceeds annually for the Veterans Trust Fund, providing a stable, ongoing source of revenue to the fund for the first time.

Only One “Formula” Works

The story about a recent lottery winner from Wisconsin is making headlines around the world. Want to see how far the story has traveled? Click here, here and here for just a few examples. 

It seems that a couple from Mount Horeb, Wis., has won four jackpots of $350,000 in Wisconsin’s SuperCash game. The couple won four times, all in the Aug. 16 drawing. Each jackpot-winning ticket was purchased at a different store, but with the same numbers on each ticket. Word has it that the man claims he’s developed a formula for picking lottery numbers and is considering a patent for his work.

I’ve seen the debates raging online about the story and whether it’s even possible to develop a formula for winning the lottery. I’m betting there have been debates about “the winning formula” in lottery games for as long as there have been lotteries -- and that stretches back at least to the time of the construction of the Great Wall in China.

For the record, you can put me firmly in the camp that understands that lottery games and their drawings are based solely upon random outcomes. There truly is no way to predict which numbers will be drawn next in our games because … wait for it … it’s all random. There are lots of books on the topic at your local library, if you want to research mathematics and random statistics.

Now, there have been weird coincidences in lottery games through the years, but that’s all they are: coincidences.

A few years ago, hundreds of people all won prizes of at least $200,000 in one drawing by matching the first five numbers but missing the Powerball. It turns out they’d all been playing numbers that they’d found inside fortune cookies, and all the cookies were produced by the same New York company and contained the same numbers. Their numbers came in and the players all won big.

Last year, another group of players that included an Estherville man, all won Powerball prizes in the same drawing with numbers that were suggested by a television show. It was another strange coincidence that led to a group of players winning big. That’s what happens in the world of random statistics.

There is only one “formula” I know of that guarantees you a chance at winning a lottery prize: You have to buy a ticket! So buy a ticket if you want, but remember that the lottery is a just form of entertainment, like going to the movies, reading a magazine or going out to eat. Don’t believe that any formula is going to help you win and don’t play beyond your means. Just have fun with it.

“Midwest Millions” Test Of New Concept

The three scenes representing
Kansas and Iowa on the tickets in
this year’s "Midwest Millions" game.

Statewide sales have just started in “Midwest Millions,” a new concept in lottery games we’re continuing to explore to see where it takes us.

Some of you may remember that we debuted the initial version of this game last fall along with the Kansas Lottery. When sales in that first Midwest Millions game began, we became the first lotteries in the United States to offer a joint instant-scratch game where players from both states bought tickets and competed for prizes as part of one big pool.

The game was designed to test the “Powerball concept” that has proven so successful in lotto games. The idea involved is that by joining together in a game, lotteries can offer bigger prizes and more chances to win than they would have been able to if they had offered a game on their own. From a player perspective, we know that bigger prizes – and more of them – are always in demand, and we try to find ways to deliver those!   

Probably the best example of success in joint lottery games is Powerball, which has pretty much rewritten the book on big jackpots since its start in 1992. The biggest jackpot offered in Powerball thus far was a $365 million prize in the drawing on Feb. 18, 2006, and jackpots in the nine-figure range are common. The game began with 15 lotteries as members and jackpots that started at $2 million. Today, Powerball has 32 members and its jackpots start at $15 million.

I’m pleased to report that our initial Midwest Millions game last fall was a success. We nearly sold out of the game here in Iowa and the Kansas Lottery sold about 90 percent of its tickets in a much shorter timeframe than usual for a $10 game. That led us to introduce our new version of the game, which began sales last week.

Now, I must tell you that we’re feeling a little guilty here at the Iowa Lottery about the first Midwest Millions game. See, the game was designed to give players from both states a shot at the $500,000 prizes available in Midwest Millions’ two second-chance prize drawings. (Our current game is designed that way, too.) That meant that both of the top-prize winners could have been Kansas Lottery players, both could have been Iowa Lottery players, or each state could have gotten one. Well, both of the $500,000 winners ended up being Iowa Lottery players (see their pics below).

I was the announcer at the Midwest Millions drawing in April in downtown Des Moines. When the grand-prize winning ticket was drawn, I snuck a quick look at it as the auditor and security officers were recording the information from it. I couldn’t see the winner’s name until the ticket was handed to me, but I could see the state where they were from … And I felt a wave a guilt, knowing that I would have to announce to the crowd – with our colleagues from the Kansas Lottery looking on – that the Iowa Lottery had walked away with both of the game’s $500,000 winners.

My next confession is that the guilt didn’t last that long (Sorry, Kansas!) because the crowd at the drawing gave a huge cheer when I announced that the winner was from Iowa. And then we had the fun later that day of calling our $500,000 winner at work to tell him the news. He was surprised to say the least!

The idea for Midwest Millions was proposed by Kansas Lottery Executive Director Ed Van Petten and luckily for us, he’s been extremely good-natured about the outcome of our last game’s second-chance drawings. He has told us, however, that Kansas is planning to come away with both of the top-prize winners in our current game. Message to Ed: Only time will tell, mister! May the best state win!                  

There are some changes in our current game from the original version. The instant prizes still range from $10 to $50,000 and there will still be two second-chance drawings. But in an effort to put more emphasis on large prizes in the game, each Midwest Millions drawing this time will offer a top prize of $500,000 along with five prizes of $10,000. Each drawing in the initial game offered a top prize of $500,000 along with 50 prizes of $1,000.

We think Midwest Millions has proven that the multi-state approach can be successful for instant-scratch games as well as lotto games, and we’re looking forward to the upcoming drawings in our new game. Will the winners be from Kansas or from Iowa? Buy a ticket and put your name in the running!

Ralph Kuwamoto won the first
$500,000 prize in last year's Midwest
Millions Game. Ralph lives in Lincoln,
Neb., but bought his ticket while
working near Glenwood in southwest
Iowa.

Stephen Zabel of Conesville won the second $500,000 prize in last year's
Midwest Millions game. He and his wife Diana celebrated as he claimed the
prize.

Update on Iowa's Biggest Jackpot Winners

A few weeks ago, we had a surprise visit from Tim and Kellie Guderian of Fort Dodge. You may remember them – they won a $200.8 million Powerball jackpot in 2006, the largest lottery prize that’s been won in Iowa. For a trip down memory lane, here’s a USA Today article about their jackpot win.

Tim and Kellie were on their way to the Iowa State Fair when they remembered the “Stars Boards” here at lottery headquarters and wanted to see their names on the boards.

In the lobby here at lottery headquarters in Des Moines, we have large boards on the wall that have gold name plaques in them, listing all of those who have won prizes of $1 million or more since the lottery’s start in 1985. The first name on the boards is that of Bill Watson of Council Bluffs, who became the first lottery multi-millionaire in Iowa when he won a $4 million prize on the  “Wheel Spin” television show in November 1985.

The newest name on the boards is that of Kimberly Edwards of Pleasant Hill, who claimed  the $1 million top prize in June in “Iowa’s Million Dollar Raffle” game.

Tim and Kellie remembered that when they claimed their jackpot two years ago, we told them that their names would be added to the Stars Boards and they stopped by the lottery to take a quick picture with their plaque. It’s fun for those of us at the lottery to catch up with our jackpot winners. Folks outside the lottery sometimes think that we keep in touch with our winners, but by and large, that isn’t the case. Sometimes we hear from our winners who receive annuitized payments over time, but for those who receive their jackpot winnings in one lump-sum payment, we often don’t interact with them again after the big check is presented.

The Stars Boards in our lobby are a fun drawing point for lottery visitors. People search for names they remember, people they may know, or winners from their hometowns or areas of the state. The boards are also a quick way for us to double-check the stats on a particular winner when we’re having trouble remembering the details!

So, Tim and Kellie, thanks for stopping by! It was great to catch up with you and to see you enjoying your lives. Everybody else, consider this your invitation to stop by the lottery and check out our Stars Boards in the lobby!

Tim and Kellie receiving their ceremonial
check in October 2006.

Tim and Kellie enjoying life now.

Inside Scoop On Lottery’s Latest Results

The financial results that lotteries report each year are big news. People use the year-end reports as a quick gauge of lottery success: Were sales up or down? Why? How much money did the lottery raise for important causes?

This year’s results were watched especially closely in terms of lottery sales in a down economy. Did it mean anything if lottery sales were up when the economy has been in a long-term downturn? Have high fuel prices had an impact on lottery sales and the sale of other retail products? 

For a quick review of media reports from around the country about lottery results, click here, here, here and here.    

A reporter who recently called the lottery to ask about our fiscal year 2008 results asked whether we were “shocked” to know that Iowa Lottery sales had increased despite the tough economic conditions in our state and across the country. The short answer is no, but that’s because we know the details behind the numbers. The fact is that lottery sales got off to a very strong start in our last fiscal year, but that was before fuel prices skyrocketed and storms and flooding devastated much of our state. That strong start made the difference in this year’s figures although lottery sales floated down for much of the rest of the year, particularly in June when widespread flooding impacted most of the state.

Lottery sales in FY 2008, which ended June 30, totaled more than $249 million. That marked the highest combined sales total for lotto, instant-scratch and pull-tab games since the lottery’s start in 1985 and was a 6 percent increase from FY 2007’s sales total. The lottery raised more than $57 million in profits for vital state programs in its latest fiscal year.

What those overall figures don’t show is that lottery sales had jumped out to an 18 percent lead over the previous year’s figures by early September 2007, driven by strong performances from Powerball and instant-scratch tickets. The Powerball jackpot had reached $314.3 million for the drawing on Aug. 25, 2007, and that big prize had helped drive not only Powerball sales, but sales of other lottery products as well.

But as the fiscal year continued, the pace of lottery sales slackened, particularly in June, when more than 80 of the state’s counties had been declared disaster areas and the average price of mid-grade ethanol-blended gasoline had risen to $3.86 a gallon in Iowa. Five of the lottery’s products, including Powerball and Hot Lotto, saw sales decreases in June compared to the same month a year earlier.

The Powerball Drawings are Moving to Florida

There’s a big change in the works for Powerball, one that will lead to bigger, faster-growing jackpots in the game, and that’s something we know players want. But the change also will involve a revamp of Powerball’s televised drawings, so all of the lotteries in the game are busy working on a new look and feel for the twice-a-week broadcasts.

Unclaimed Prizes: Is One Of Them Yours?

Today is the deadline for people to claim prizes in “Iowa’s Million Dollar Raffle” game, which ended sales in June. One of the game’s $5,000 prizes is still unclaimed along with 11 prizes of $500. For a list of all the unclaimed raffle prizes and where the winning tickets were sold, click here.

The players who bought the winning raffle tickets have until the close of business today to claim them. The $5,000 prize must be claimed at one of the Iowa Lottery’s regional offices, and our ticket-validation hours end at 4 p.m. The $500 prizes can be claimed at our offices or at retail locations that sell Iowa Lottery tickets.

The unclaimed raffle prizes are just part of a much bigger picture that involves millions of dollars in Iowa Lottery prizes that expire each year without being claimed. Did you know that in fiscal year 2008, $1.6 million in tickets went unclaimed in lotto games in Iowa?

We’re often asked why we think prizes go unclaimed. There are probably as many answers to that question as there are people who buy lottery tickets.

Some players may just forget to ever check their tickets. Others might only check to see if they won the jackpot and not go any further, not realizing that there are many other smaller prizes that they also can win. Still others may have tickets sitting around at home and not check them until it’s too late.

We send out lots of reminders about unclaimed lottery prizes. Whether it be posters that we put up at the stores that sell the winning tickets or events that we hold there, interviews that we do with the media or lists of unclaimed prizes that we keep our Web site, we use a variety of ways to remind people to check and double-check their tickets. Look, someone has won each of those prizes and we want them to be claimed! Meeting our winners and learning their stories is one of the most entertaining and rewarding aspects of working at the Iowa Lottery.

Can A Group Claim A Lottery Prize Together?

Click here to watch video of the
Lucky 13 claiming their prize!

You’ve probably heard about groups that have won lottery prizes together, like the co-workers at a Maquoketa printing plant who won a $400,000 Powerball prize in March. But a lot of people wonder how a group goes about claiming a prize when there’s just one ticket involved.

When a group wins a lottery prize in Iowa, just one person signs the back of the ticket, but they indicate they are doing so on behalf of the group. You can use whatever name your group has chosen. In the case of the Maquoketa winners, they were the Maquoketa News Lucky 13.       

If your group is claiming a prize of $600 or more that requires a claim form, you check the box showing that more than one person is claiming the prize. Each member of the group then provides information on an IRS Form 5754 so all of the winners are listed for tax-reporting purposes.

The lottery issues a check for the prize to the person who signed the back of the ticket. That person then can deposit or cash the check and split the winnings with the group!

Here are some quick tips to remember if you’re buying lottery tickets as part of a group:

 Keep a list of everyone who gives money to buy group tickets and how much they contribute.
 If you’re buying tickets for a group and also plan to buy tickets for yourself, you may want to buy them separately so there’s no confusion about which tickets are which.
 You also can make photocopies of the tickets for your group and give out copies before the drawing so everyone can see the numbers that were played.

Welcome to the Iowa Lottery’s Blog!

We’ve been looking for a way to give you more of a chance to tell us what you think, make suggestions and ask questions in a give-and-take format where we all can participate. We’re happy today to introduce that opportunity here at the Iowa Lottery’s blog.

Follow our blog and we’ll answer your questions about the odds in lottery games and what they mean. Ever wonder about how some of our jackpot winners are doing? We’ll let you know here in the blog. Heard the one about a “formula” for winning the lottery? We’ll cover that, too.

But just as importantly, this blog is a two-way street! It’s your chance share your opinion about lottery issues, let us know how you think we’re doing and join in a conversation with others about lottery issues.

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